A Summer's Harvest
by GreenTheRyno
Summary: Summer Rose lived a happy life. Married to a loving husband and with two daughters at home, she could safely say that she was, well, happy. But of course, this cannot last; for the grimm will not allow it to. Now she drifts throughout the heavens... ...just not the ones she expected...
1. Roses Cast Adrift

Alright! Its finally here! One quick announcement before the chapter starts, though. Ruby B-312 has, again, encountered goddamn delays and will probably be out tomorrow (hopefully).

Anyways, that is all. Begin the chapter!

* * *

Chapter One – Roses Cast Adrift

* * *

/-\ Summer Rose; Forever Fall Forest /-\

Ten and a half years before the Sunset Invasion

* * *

Pain.

Pain was all that I felt… Well… and the cold emanating from my stomach. The place where I was stabbed.

'Oh, right… That happened.' I idly thought in my somewhat delirious state.

My silver eyes lazily fluttered open before just as lazily shutting again…

…until I heard a very child-like scream. Ruby's scream. My _daughter's_ scream.

My eyes snapped open and locked onto my daughter…

…and the _monster_ that was moving towards her.

I reached for the weapon holster on my right hip, but found it empty. Biting back both a curse and a scream of agony, I moved with all the speed I could muster, though the half-grimm was much too fast for me in my wounded state.

He- no, _it_ gave a sadistic grin, showing off its fanged teeth. "Oh, how persistent you are, little rose…" It chuckled. "You know, it has been quite a few decades since I've had the pleasure of dueling with one of the mythical 'Silver-Eyed Warriors'…" He frowned. "You disappoint me."

"Heh…" I said, slowly inching towards my weapon, hopefully unnoticed by my would-be assailant. "That's what she said."

My comment had its intended effect, as it wracked its brain for a meaning, giving me _just_ enough time to dive for my weapon and scoop it up. I slammed the wooden handle of my sawed-off shotgun into the ground and pulled the trigger, sending a four-gauge round into the monster's thigh…

…or that's what it was supposed to do.

When the considerable amount of airborne debris cleared, I saw the slug slowly float down a river of blue, soupy liquid. The monster looked unamused. "Oh, Summer…" It started. "Sweet…" It took a step forward. "Little…" another step. "Naïve…" it stepped upon the now-grounded slug. "Summer…"

I pulled the trigger again, aiming for the same spot… …and it got caught up in the same blue, soupy waterfall. I fired again, and again, and aga-

 **-click-**

My eyes widened.

 **-click click click-**

It let out a chuckle. "Ah yes, pull the trigger another thousand times. See what good that does you." It gloated.

The humanoid monster finally stepped into the moonlight enough for me to discern its features, and my eyes widened. I had suspected that it was a half-Grimm that I was dealing with, being in Ozpin's inner circle allowed you knowledge of such creatures, but whoever this was, they were _far_ further along than any ordinary half-grimm.

Even if the head and upper torso were still human… nothing else was. Its eyes were the signature blood red that all grimm displayed. Around them, a bone mask etched with red sat. Its legs were morphed into twisted abominations of their former selves, muscles enlarged to ludicrous proportions, and claws jutting out of its toes. Though its left arm was human-ish, the right one certainly wasn't. Like the legs, the muscles on said arm were massively enlarged, and adorned razor-sharp claws at the end of each finger. On top of all this, pitch black fur crawled its way up his body, fully encasing his right arm, legs, and lower torso with inky tendrils crawling their way around what little humanity his body clung to.

It frowned. "Oh, little rose… I thought you were smarter than this." I quickly reached for my belt to retrieve a fresh five-round stripper clip…

…only to find none.

It smirked. "Always count your ammunition, little one. _Especially_ when dealing with an 'Elite huntsman'," It mocked with air quotes. "such as myself." I blinked, an action which he seemed to notice. "Oh? Dear old Oswa-" It stopped itself before smiling. "Oh, what's that old wizard calling himself these days? Ozpin, I believe?" He nodded. "Yes, _that_ is the correct one."

My eyes widened. "H- How?!" I practically screamed. "That was two reincarnations ago!"

"Oh my dear little rose…" it mocked. "I have been around for a _very_ long time." The claws on its right hand lengthened, practically becoming knives. "But that's enough small talk, don't you think?" It said, stalking towards my daughter.

I let out a gasp before crawling forward, striving to protect her, a movement which miraculously went unnoticed. Just as he readied its hand to strike Ruby, I leaped forward. Taking the strike for her. "Gah!" I yelled, feeling his claws rip into my back. I looked into her eyes, lowering myself to her. "…Run…" I begged. "Please… just run…"

Her silver, tear-soaked eyes widened… …shortly before they began to glow. " **MOOOOOM!** "

Her eyes were activating and, at such a young age, they could kill her. As a last resort, I activated my own eyes, pouring every ounce of my energy into her in hopes that her body would use my energy instead of her own.

I never liked using my powers. They always ended up leaving me bedridden for days, or even weeks after a single use. What little literature Ozpin kept on the Silver-Eyed Warriors constantly stated that the 'Argilass' becomes less potent once the eyes are 'unlocked', as they put it. Unfortunately, due to the side-effects, I never practiced with my powers, thus, I never 'unlocked' them.

I screamed in pain, echoing my daughter's own shouts, as a stream of white light beamed from me to her, both amplifying her own awakening powers _and_ protecting her from any harm.

Blackness crept into my vision; a combination of both blood loss and Argilass. As darkness began to overtake me, I saw the light reach the Grimm-man and set it ablaze. A smile crept its way onto my face as I saw it be thrown away; knowing my daughter would have a fighting chance.

My eyes fluttered closed, and I was at least somewhat accepting of my fate. In my delirious state, I scarcely noticed myself being swept off the ground by a strong wind. 'Is this what it's like to die?' I thought to myself. 'Have the Brother's angels come for me?'

I seemed to have passed through a barrier of some sort, because even in my condition, I felt the air around me change. No longer was it the humid yet cool air of the Forever Fall forest, instead, the air felt… musty, artificial, so many other words that just didn't make any sense.

I blearily opened my eyes, trying to get a glimpse of something, anything. I spied a woman sporting a blue glow. If not for said glow, her long, flowing hair would have been black, matching her dress pants but not her long sleeved shirt, which would be an off-white of sorts.

My eyes were transfixed on the woman and, mustering what little strength I had left, I opened my mouth. "A- Are you an angel?" I asked, shortly before my eyes fluttered closed and I drifted into semi-unconsciousness.

* * *

"…ly on… …oman h… ght?"

…

"…ye si… …dical te… ..TA fi… tes…"

…

…

…

"…t _is_ she?"

"…on't kn… …ssor…"

…

…

…

"…table, I don… …aptain."

"…er here, profe…"

* * *

I stood in a grassy field, Beacon Academy loomed in the distance.

 **-beep-**

I looked around for the source of the single beep I just heard, confused when I couldn't find one.

 **-beep-**

I kept searching, finding nothing.

 **-beep-**

"Hey."

 **-beep-**

I spun around towards the familiar voice, seeing my daughter stand before me.

 **-beep-**

"Ruby?"

 **-beep beep-**

She gave me a smile. "I'll wait for you, mommy."

 **-beep beep-**

"What does that mean?" I asked, stepping towards her.

 **-beep beep-**

She ran forwards and hugged my leg. "I love you."

 **-beep beep-**

I returned the hug. "I love you too, sweetie. But what do you mean?"

 **-beep beep-**

She looked up and gave me a sad smile. "It's time to wake up."

 **-beep beep beep-**

"Ruby, what are you talking about?"

 **-beep beep beep-**

She gave me a sad smile. "They need you, mommy."

 **-beep beep beep-**

She shot away from me. "RUBY!"

 **-beep beep beep beep-**

* * *

 **-beep beep beep beep-**

My eyes snapped open and I just as quickly sprung up from the bed I had laid upon, disconnecting several machines from both myself and the wall…

…only to stumble as I felt the Argilass's effect on my system.

Suddenly, I heard the the sound of several rifles coming to bear. I spun around and came face to face with three black-armored figures pointing weird-looking rifles at me. I instinctively reached for my thigh, feeling for my weapon, Chromatic Rose, only to find it absent.

My eyes widened and I froze. I was never an unarmed specialist, despite Tai trying to change that fact on numerous occasions. I weighed my options. I could run, but where would I go? I didn't even know where I was in the first place!

Option two: fight. Given these were likely grunts with inactive auras, I could beat them with a summoned weapon.

Option three: Comply. I didn't know what they want, this could all be just a big misunderstanding, after all. I internally giggled at the memory of when Qrow used that line last.

"Put your hands in the air." The center one calmly ordered. Giving them a chance, I did as instructed.

"Don't trust her, Sarge." The rightmost one said. "Look at her ears, she's not even remotely threatened."

I blinked, the comment about my heritage catching me off guard. I shook my head to clear my own thoughts. "Look, I don't want any trouble." I said, still keeping my hands in the air. "Just tell me where I am, and I can be on my way."

"We aren't here to make deals, we're here to make sure you don't cause any trouble." The center one said.

I blew out a breath. "Alright, well… I guess I'll just- wait what?" I said, confused, as I realized I was in a hospital gown instead of- "Where're my clothes?!"

He shrugged. "I dunno. Anyways, as much as I'd _love_ to talk with an alien," I blinked. "I'm just supposed to guard you, so do us both a favor and shutup."

I raised an eyebrow before shrugging, deciding to make myself comfortable on the bed I was resting on.

A few minutes passed, the armored men on the sides each lowered their firearms, though the one in the middle wasn't so trusting. I ignored him, people were violently racist against the Faunus back home, and it seemed that here is no different…

…wherever 'here' is.

I sighed in boredom, turns out that sitting on a hospital bed without a scroll, or anything, really, was quite dull. 'Quite a _stunning_ revelation, Summer…' I idly thought.

My Faunus ears perked up, hearing three sets of footfalls. One was heavy, one light, and the last was somewhere in-between.

The door opened and revealed- "Captain on deck!" One of the soldiers shouted, and snapped a salute, as a man flanked by both a man and a woman entered.

The centermost man looked to be in his early fifties and wore dark green military fatigues in conjunction with combat boots and a hat. Both his fatigues and the hat bore an insignia that I was unfamiliar with. It resembled a bird of some kind resting atop a sphere which adorned a banner with the letters 'U' 'N' 'S' and 'C' inscribed upon it. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that this man is the 'Captain' the soldier spoke of.

The other man looked to be a grizzled veteran of some kind, although his eyes and his stride spoke of his confidence; not _overconfidence_ , mind you, but this man was good and he knew it. He wore several tan-colored armor plates over a black undersuit. His left pauldron was bigger than his right and, oddly enough, adorned an 'Ace' playing card.

The woman looked to be of Eastern Mistralian descent, and her hairstyle reflected it, as she had two chopsticks placed into her raven-colored hair that was otherwise pulled into a bun on the back of her head. Despite her lithe frame, I could tell that she still stood about nine inches taller than me. She wore a white labcoat over an orange top paired with dark grey cargo pants.

The Captain had his hands clasped behind his back and studied me for a moment. "At ease." He commanded, signaling the soldiers to lower their salutes. He began to approach, possibly trying to threaten me.

While I _did_ sit, unmoving, on the bed, I was _certainly_ not defenseless. I had already mentally checked my aura and, while it wasn't full, it also wasn't anywhere _near_ empty.

He stared directly into my eyes, trying to intimidate me. Granted, his gaze was harsher than most, but it was nothing compared to the pure _hatred_ and _disdain_ that those of a Grimm held. As such, I figuratively shrugged him off, giving him an 'are you done?' type look.

Finally, he softened his gaze. "What are you?" He asked.

I blinked. "…What?" I half-confusedly asked.

"You obviously aren't human. So I ask again, what are you?" He repeated, his voice lacking any malicious edge to it.

"…I'm a Faunus." I said, still somewhat disbelieving that he hadn't heard of my people before. "How did you not know that? There's fourteen million of us out there!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Is that supposed to be impressive?" He said. "The inner colonies have more than that in _billions_ of people."

I scoffed. "I _think_ I would've heard of a kingdom with that many people in it." I said. "Besides, the amount of farmland needed to sustain that many people would be completely impossible to protect from the Grimm."

"Grim?"

I blinked again and began stammering. "Wha- but- how- uhh…" I tried forming coherent words, but they failed me. "Okay, now I _know_ you're messing with me." I finally managed to get out. " _Everyone_ on Remnant knows about the Grimm."

He shrugged. "We've never been to this 'Remnant' before."

"Yeah, no." I said. "Just cut to the chase and tell me where I am."

"Lady," The armored man said. "I don't know how, but you just appeared onto the bridge of a military vessel en route to a combat zone."

The Captain nodded. "If I were you, I wouldn't be making demands." He said. "But if you really need to know, we're less than an hour out from the Epsilon Indi system."

"Captain, should you really be telling her this?" One of the black-suited guards asked.

"At ease, Corporal. We've relieved her of any and all communication devices." He said. "Plus, something about her tells me she's not with the Covenant."

I shrugged. "I don't even know what that is." They all gave me incredulous looks. "…What?" I asked.

The woman stepped forward. "Don't be so surprised, Captain." She said. "She's part of an uncontacted species. Its possible that they've been lucky so far."

"Woah woah woah woah." I interjected. "What do you mean, 'uncontacted'? You're treating me like I'm an alien or something."

She raised an eyebrow. "Well, you are."

I blinked. "Uhh, no I'm not." I said. "I mean, unless you guys aren't Humans."

This seemed to catch their attention. "So you've heard of _us_ , but we haven't heard of _you_." She stated before pulling out a datapad and typing a few notes. "Interesting…"

I scoffed. "Heard of you? My husband and all three of my teammates are humans." I said. "And so're my-" Suddenly, I remembered the events leading up to my arrival. "…daughters." My expression sharpened, and my ears pointed backwards. "Enough of this. Tell me where I am and bring me back to where you found me. My daughters are in very _real_ danger and I need to get to them."

"We didn't _find_ you anywhere." The captain said. "It's just like Sergeant Forge said, you just appeared on our bridge during transit."

"Then drop me off at Beacon. I can get a ride from there." I commanded.

" _We_ aren't going _anywhere_." He shot back. "I'm not going to abandon my orders and that's final."

I scowled. "Fine. Just let me off at the next stop." I said. "Hell, I don't even need to be dropped off. Just fly below a kilometer or so and I'll jump."

The woman blinked. "You can survive a fall from that height?"

"Well, I _am_ a huntress. Shit like that happens every other Tuesday." I responded before turning back to the captain. "Now, if you'd give me my clothes and my weapon back, I'll be on my way."

He hesitated for a moment. "Serina." He said.

"Yes, Captain?" A feminine voice over an intercom asked.

"Send someone to retrieve…" He trailed off before turning to me.

"Summer Rose." I supplied.

He nodded. "Send someone to retrieve Missus Rose's clothes."

"What about my weapon?" I asked.

"You're an unknown entity aboard a UNSC warship without authorization." He said. "Be glad that I didn't just order you detained." He shot back. "Serina, ETA to our exit?"

"Approximately twelve minutes, Captain."

"Noted." He said before turning to the woman. "Anders, think you'll be alright?"

She nodded. "I'll take it from here, Captain."

"Call us if you need anything." He said as both he and the armored man exited. Though the three black-armored guards remained.

The woman cleared her throat and extended her hand, an awkward smile on her face. "I'm Professor Ellen Anders."

I mentally shrugged off her awkwardness and accepted her gesture. "Summer Rose." I introduced, only realizing that it was redundant _after_ the words left my mouth. "First thing's first, how long've I been out?"

She hummed. "A little over a week now, is that normal for your species?"

I shrugged. "Considering what happened before I got here… yeah." I paused as she took some more notes. "So, since everyone here thinks I'm an alien, whaddaya wanna know?"

"Oh, umm, yeah…" She said. "Firstly, have you heard of Earth?"

I blinked. "Like the ground?" I questioned.

She laughed. "I'll take that as a 'no', then." She tapped her datapad a few times. "Next, are your chactaristics representative of your species?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, before realizing what she meant. "Oh, right… Alien…" I sighed. "I mean, aside from one trait, _these_ cute little things in my case," I wiggled my cat ears. "and night vision, we're identical to Humans."

She tapped her datapad more. "Hmm… and what about your eyes? Silver is a very peculiar color, is it common?"

"Nope." I responded. "I only know one other Silver-Eyed Wa-" I cut myself off. "Ehem… I only know one other person with silver eyes, and I only know _of_ about a dozen of us."

She blinked. "That's mutation levels of rarity." She said under her breath, not realizing I could hear her. "You said your world population was fourteen million?"

I shook my head. "No, that's how many _F_ _aunus_ there are." I said. "Including Humans, Remnant's population is about fifty million, maybe a bit more."

"Hmm, not bad." She said. "That's bigger than most outer colonies."

I gave a slight chuckle. "Alright, this's been fun, but I really do have a daughter to save. If I could get my clothes now…" I trailed off as the door opened and revealed another soldier holding my clothes. "Well, that's convenient."

I quickly took them and gave the man a nod of thanks before he exited. I quickly made sure that I had everything. 'Let's see… Black long-sleeved dress? Check. Corset? Check. Leggings? Check. Cloak? Check. Combat boots? Check. Rose emblem?' I quickly went through my things again… …and came up empty. 'Godsdamnit…' I sighed. Realizing I probably left it behind in the forest, I elected to search for it when I got back. "Can you guys give me a bit of privacy for a sec?" I asked everyone in the room.

Professor Anders and one of the guards nodded and turned around, but the other two guards stood still. "We've been assigned to watch you for any suspicious activity." One of them said.

I gave him a deadpan expression. "Just turn around..." I said. "Besides, isn't it a bit _rude_ to peek on a girl who's changing?"

"No can do." He said, a hint of amusement in his voice. I facepalmed before activating my semblance with a wave of my hand. White rose petals flowed freely, methodically assembling themselves into a privacy barrier that almost seemed to glow. The rose petal patterns engraved on my summons always brought a smile onto my face. Just as the last petal clicked into place, the skeevy guard shouted at me. "Hey! Take this… _thing_ down immediately!"

I rolled my eyes, quickly donning my usual attire.

"Come out now!" He ordered as I was tying my boots. "Fuck it, just shoot her!"

I heard the staccato of gunfire from a single rifle as several mini spiderweb cracks began to form on my barrier. The cracks had just started to become worryingly large when I secured my cloak. Seeing no alternative, I activated my semblance again, this time summoning a sword.

I dispelled the barrier, the rose petals flowing into my cloak and lengthening it, just before I began flourishing with my blade, deflecting any and all bullets.

His firing ceased with a series of clicks emanating from his rifle. The other two guards looked too dumbstruck to do anything and the Professor stood there, her mouth agape.

I twirled my weapon and thrust it into the sheath I had installed on my belt for just this type of situation. "Now." I began. "Let's talk."

They all just stared at me for a moment before the guard that had been shooting reached up to his helmet and pressed a button. "The prisoner is loose! I need backup!" He shouted before slamming a new magazine into his rifle.

I sprinted forward and hit him with a wild kick to his crotch, grabbing his rifle in the process, before dashing out of the room.

I was spat out into a gunmetal grey corridor with a yellow stripe painted a little above head-height. Suddenly, the lights turned from their normal, white, color to a dimmer red. Seeing this as my cue to book it, I did so…

…just before a few bullets impacted the wall opposite me.

I ran onwards, wishing I had a speed semblance for a moment, while dodging or deflecting bullet after bullet from the ever-growing crowd of pursuers.

The bulkhead ahead of me began to close, but thankfully, I was _just_ fast enough to avoid my cloak getting caught. The room I had stumbled into was fairly large and filled with strange 'pods', for lack of a better term. Each one had a single, heavily padded seat flanked by two slots. Above each pod, a large windowed canopy hung.

Suddenly, the avatar of a blue woman appeared on a nearby table. It took me only a moment to realize that I had seen her before, just as I was passing out when I arrived. She had a somewhat neutral face, though I could see a smirk playing at her lips.

"Hello, Missus Rose." She said.

I blinked before approaching. "Uhh… hi?"

"From what I was both hearing and seeing in the medbay, it would seem that you are quite a powerful warrior."

"Well, I _am_ a huntress. Heh, and an elite one at that." I said. "By the way, can you tell them to, I don't know, _not_ kill me?"

"I'm afraid that they're too angry for that at the moment." She said, causing me to deflate slightly. "As long as you're on this ship, they'll likely hunt you down. The only way would be for you to prove that you're not hostile to them."

"But I-"

"Relax." She quickly interrupted. "I was able to see the whole thing. You could've easily killed everyone in that room if you wanted to."

"Yea, I could've." I affirmed. "But I didn't really have anything against them, nor were they dangerous criminals…" I said. "…at least, I hope not." I quickly amended.

"You don't need to prove any intentions to me." She said before all the lights went out except for the ones around a certain pod. "Hmm, how odd." She commented, a smirk on her face. "It would seem that this Human Entry Vehicle, or HEV, has 'malfunctioned', allowing you to escape."

I blinked. "Uhh, thanks, I guess? How do I use it?"

"Merely place your weapons within the racks and buckle up. The automated descent computer will do the rest." She said. "Should the hatch become stuck upon landing, there are a series of four green buttons on the inside; press them all to engage the override."

"Thanks for the tip." I said as I followed her instructions and boarded the pod. As soon as I was situated, the hatch slammed down with a hiss and the entire pod shook.

I felt myself lazily swing about as the pod was rotated into position. Suddenly, the floor of the bay opened up, revealing a black void...

…and a planet below.

A planet half _burned._

My eyes widened at the sight, as this was _certainly_ not Remnant. It's almost like-

 **-beep beep beep beep BEEP-**

My body was thrust against the restraints as a bout of sudden acceleration forced me upwards.

I gripped the handholds for dear life as the planet grew closer by the second. Soon, my pod was enveloped in flames, but oddly enough, the temperature _inside_ the HEV remained steady. My pod began to shake wildly as I got nearer to the ground and, just as suddenly as the first bout of acceleration happened, a second one did as well.

This one, however, forced me into my seat with a tremendous force, and the rate at which the ground was approaching seemed to slow.

Seconds later, I burst through a layer of clouds, revealing the snow-covered landscape below.

I gasped when I saw what looked to be a battle raging in the distance. Thankfully, it was fairly far from where I was going to land, but it was still _far_ too close for my liking. Oddly enough, blue streaks of light rushed past my pod.

The ground came closer and closer, and I braced for impact.

 **-thunk-**

I was thrust into my seat even harder than I was the first time. 'Hang on a minute, wasn't the hatch supposed to-'

 **-beep beep beep-**

 **-BANG-**

The hatch flew off its hinges and cold air immediately rushed in, causing me to give a slight shiver.

Having found the restraints to be automatically retracted, I climbed out of the pod and retrieved my weapons.

My ears perked up, detecting heavy footfalls not far from my position. Oddly, they were heavier than any Human's I had encountered before. This immediately set off alarm bells in my head, and I dove behind my pod just as the offending animal entered the vicinity.

"Wort wort wort!" I heard.

The footsteps grew closer and closer… …and then I remembered that I had landed in a _snowy_ area… …meaning my footprints would be visible…

I immediately prepared for a fight by tossing my rifle to the ground and drawing my sword.

A _massive_ figure in blue armor rounded the corner and raised a strange claw-shaped probably-rifle.

I leaped into action, literally, and severed its arm with the flick of my wrist before bringing my blade up and decapitating the monster.

Its body fell to the ground with a loud **-thud-** and I scanned the area. Three ape-like creatures with giant spikes on their backs looked at me in what I could guess would be fear before bolting away.

Deciding that I wanted nothing to do with them, I not only let them leave, but also headed in the complete opposite direction.

After a few minutes of tredging through the snow-covered landscape, I came across a cliffside overlooking the entrance to some kind of structure. Oddly enough, the snow there was disturbed as if someone had been crawling in it not too long ago.

Several of those creatures guarded the entrance. They were mainly the smaller, cowardly ones, but a few of the blue armored big ones joined them. One of the big ones also had silver armor, though I only got a glimpse of the figure as it boarded some kind of forked airship.

I paused, deciding if I should attempt to take shelter in there, after dealing with the current occupants, of course, when a green streak of light passed by me.

I rolled my eyes before drawing my sword and charging into the fray. I dodged left and right as the green lights flew past me, oddly enough, making me ever so slightly warmer than I was before.

Finally reaching the first split-jawed one, I dropped and slashed its legs as I skidded past it, summoning a knife in my off-hand. I stood up and threw it into the neck of the nearest Derp, as I decided to call them, just as it formed.

I flipped over another glob of the blue stuff, impaling a Split-jaw as I landed and using it as a springboard to avoid another volley of projectiles.

Unfortunately, I was a fraction of a second too slow, and I yelped as two shots grazed my aura, draining a not insignificant amount of it.

Knowing that I wouldn't want to take any more hits from… _whatever_ that was, I summoned a buckler with which to deflect them.

I flared my semblance, causing a cloud of rose petals to explode out from me and obstructing the vision of my adversaries. Still airborne, I quickly undid my cloak and threw it ahead of me, allowing it to draw the enemy's fire. I landed with a roll and sprinted towards the nearest group of enemies.

I bashed in the face of a Derp just after I slashed open the throat of one that I ran by moments ago. I collapsed to the ground, hooking my feet behind the collapsing Derp, and flung it behind me, distracting the squad's Split-jaw, while rolling onto my feet.

I sprung forward, throwing my sword into a nearby Derp and using the now-dispersed rose petal cloud to add some shiny new spikes to my buckler just as I threw it, impaling the formerly-distracted Split-jaw in its unprotected stomach. My actions, unfortunately, earned me a couple more hits to the back.

I rolled again, dodging more enemy fire, donning my cloak, and summoning a handful of throwing knives in one fluid motion. I charged the Split-jaw, throwing some knives into a few Derps as I passed them.

The Split-jaw took out a forked glowing blade of some kind and lunged for me just as I was nearing. Thankfully, I rolled between its legs just in time, thrusting my knives into the gaps of its armor as I passed.

Wasting no momentum, I leaped up and twisted my body midair before plunging my knives into either side of its neck.

It gurgled for a moment as I descended before falling to the ground.

No more blue lights flew at me, as that particular Split-jaw was the last enemy, and a smile crossed my face as I headed into the structure; seeking its warmth.

* * *

(A/N) Well… _that_ probably didn't go how anyone thought it would.

Just to be clear, Serina helped Summer because she realized that she wasn't _really_ intending on hurting anyone, but that could be changed if some idiots tried to engage her. So she elected to get her the hell off the Spirit of Fire. Of course, the best way was to drop her using a SOEIV. Also, she on purposely dropped her next to the covvie position in hopes that she'd either kill them or _be_ killed by them.

I kinda wanted to do something a little different with Summer's weapon(s) than I've seen in other fics. I figured that it would be kinda cool to see a Roguish Summer for once; one who uses misdirection and constantly changing tactics to win her battles. Obviously, she won't be using full-on illusions like Emerald or Neo, but its still a cool idea imo.

One last thing: Argilass isn't _technically_ a word, though it is made from two Latin words (Argentum lassitudinum) meaning 'Silver exhaustion'; I thought that'd be an appropriate descriptor of what Argilass is.

Since this is ch1, there's no reviews to respond to… meaning I'll see you guys in the next chapter; called 'Of Kittens and Fancy Maps'


	2. Of Kittens and Cartographers

(A/N) Good god, fucking finally its done! This is probably the worst writer's block I've ever encountered while writing something, so that's the main reason why its taken so long to actually get this thing out. Also, I changed the name of this chapter because 'Of Kittens and Fancy Maps' doesn't sound as good as 'Of Kittens and Cartographers' imo.

I still haven't forgotten about FoR, though. The next chapter is about half-done, and it'll be the next thing I upload. Whether its with another chapter of ASH or not, is something that I don't know atm. Oh well, on to the chapter!

* * *

Chapter Two – Of Kittens and Cartographers

* * *

/-\ Ellen Anders; UNSC _Spirit of Fire_ – Observation deck /-\

* * *

I heard the doors slide shut behind me, signifying that someone had entered my lab. "You said you had a report for me, Professor?"

I swiveled in my chair to face the male voice, revealing the source to be Captain Cutter. "With what data I have available, yes." I said before flipping on my large monitor and bringing up a numerical DNA comparison. "On the right is the DNA recovered from a blood sample I took during her treatment. The left one is from a typical Terran Human."

"Alright, what am I looking at?" He asked.

"She's definitely Human," I said. "but obviously not a _Homo Sapien_."

"Interesting. Anything else?"

"Before the analysis was complete, I was content to believe that this was just a case of convergent evolution." I started. "But when she woke up, she not only mentioned Humanity by _name,_ but also claimed to have _successfully procreated_ with one of us." I paused. "Normally, only _extremely_ closely related species can do that. After her DNA was indexed, coincidentally after she woke up, I ran a few comparisons between her and all known Human genomes." I said as a different DNA comparison replaced the one on the left. "This one's from Homo Floresiensis."

His eyes narrowed at the screen for a minute. "They're..." He trailed off.

" _Extremely_ similar." I finished. "Somehow, her race is descended from one of man's ancient cousins."

"How could that happen?" He asked. "We've been the only Human species on Earth for thousands of years before we invented spaceflight, let alone FTL travel."

"I don't know." I shrugged. "But she _did_ just appear on our bridge. Also, I have _no_ idea how she made that barrier in the medbay. It's possible that whatever allows her to do that is also responsible for her race's presence on… _Remnant_ , I do believe she mentioned." I said. "However, there's also one more thing."

He raised an eyebrow.

I pulled up an actual diagram of a specific segment of her genome and gestured to a few rapidly blinking base pairs. "These… Honestly, I don't even know what to call them." I said. "Not only do we have absolutely no record of _anything_ like these things, but they're in her _DNA_ of all places. And its not just in this one place. Whatever _this_ is, it makes up about 0.4% of her genome." I said. "I fully believe that something extraordinary is going on here; and right now, she's the only one who can answer our questions." I looked at him expectantly.

He sighed. "I'm guessing you still want to go down to the surface, then?"

I nodded. "Keep in mind why I'm here, Captain. I was sent by ONI to investigate Harvest. I should really be attending to my duties," I gave him a smug smile. "and if a certain mysterious Cat Woman is on the planet, all the better."

He gave me a stern look. "I'm approving the mission." He said. "But at the _slightest_ sign of danger, I'm pulling you out." He warned. "Even if it's from Missus Rose."

I nodded as I grabbed my field bag. "Understood, Captain."

* * *

/-\ John Forge; Harvest /-\

* * *

I smiled as the Covenant Base was riddled with explosions before finally disintegrating. " _Spirit_ , Forge." I said into my comms. "Enemy base has been destroyed, awaiting new orders."

"Copy that. Proceed to the Covenant dig site and secure it." The captain said.

"Copy, Forge out." I said before switching over to unit comms. "Alright, men! Move up!" I ordered from the back of my Gauss Hog. I led the charge onto the relic approach, though it was surprisingly deserted.

My forces mainly consisted of infantry, though the odd 'Hog or Scorpion accompanied us. Eventually, we reached the relic itself…

…only to be greeted by a field of Covenant bodies.

"Driver, stop." I ordered, dismounting from the vehicle after he obeyed. I knelt down and examined the bodies. "Uhh, Spirit of Fire? This is Forge, there's… something weird goin' on here."

"Go ahead, Sergeant." The Captain ordered.

"Got a lotta covvie bodies here, _we_ didn't make 'em. Are there any additional UNSC assets in the area?"

"Negative." He said. "Anything else?"

"Ay-firm. They all look like they were killed by a blade of some kind; not energy-based."

He hummed. "Hold tight. The Professor is inbound, imminent."

I cursed under my breath. "Sir, the AO isn't secure, the Professor wouldn't be-"

"That's an order, Sergeant." He said. "Stay pu-"

I clicked off my comms and shrugged. "Looks like the signal's busted." I said to my driver as I climbed back onto the LAAV's turret. "Let's get a move on!" I ordered, moving my finger in a circular motion above my head.

As we approached, I ordered the tanks to stay behind and guard the entrance; they'd be able to handle just about anything the covvies throw their way.

I scanned the interior with my turret, the other Warthog gunners doing the same, as we escorted the infantry through the relic. Occasionally, we'd come across a dead covvie squad. They all had the same wounds caused by some kind of non-energy bladed weapon.

After crossing a light-bridge of some kind, we finally came across a living being.

The figure was mostly obscured by a white cloak, that said, it was obviously female. Oddly enough, she seemed extremely interested in, bordering on _hypnosis_ , a blue ball of light in the center of the room.

"Driver, stop." I ordered, dismounting as he obeyed. I strode up to the Marine riding shotgun. "Take the gun, if she's hostile, take 'er down." He gave a quick salute before doing as I ordered. "You three," I gestured to a nearby group. "with me."

We strode forward, my shotgun at a low ready, as the woman continued to gaze into the blue sphere. Despite being absolutely sure that I didn't know anyone who possessed a white cloak, or a cloak of any kind for that matter, she seemed… _familiar_ for some reason. I mentally shrugged the feeling off, déjà vu and whatnot.

Suddenly, she started slowly reaching for the device. I snapped up my weapon, aiming it at her torso. "Freeze!" I ordered.

"GAH!" She yelped, physically jumping a dozen feet in the air and promptly landing on her feet as if nothing happened. "Gods, you scared me!" She half-yelled, dusting off herself while looking down. We were all too stunned at her almost casual disregard for physics to respond. "Oh…" She said, finally noticing she was being held at gunpoint. "Uhh… hi?"

I saw her _silver_ eyes dart behind me, likely to the gunner I had trained on her. "Wait a sec," I said, finally snapping out of my stupor. "you're the alien!" I observed.

"Ehehehehe… I think we got off on the wrong foot…" She said, nervously rubbing the back of her head.

"Put your hands in the air!" I ordered, my rifle still trained on her.

She did so with a sheepish smile, her hood falling and revealing her cat ears. My eyes darted upward for a second before refocusing on my target. "Sooooo…" She started. "Any way I can talk you into _not_ shooting me?"

"Stay still." I ordered before nudging one of my entourage. "Restrain her."

"Yes sir." He responded before moving forwards, his M7 Caseless trained on his target the entire time.

Just as he reached her, I saw one of her ears twitch. Her eyes darted upwards moments before she tackled my man to the ground.

* * *

/-\ Summer Rose /-\

* * *

I felt the sting of something pinging off my aura just as we hit the ground. Disregarding it, I quickly rolled over the form of the soldier I had just saved, grabbing his pistol in the process, and popped up into a kneeling position.

Immediately setting my sights on the sniper above us, I pulled the trigger and, seconds later, a tiny spark pinged off the metal right next to my target. I cursed and shot twice more, these rounds finally bringing down my target.

Knowing the enemy to be killed, I closed my eyes and concentrated on my hearing.

 _The heart of my charge pounded away as he quickly stood up._

 _The armored man shouted at me to drop my weapon._

 _Heavy but muffled footsteps stomped their way ever closer._

There.

My eyes snapped open and I spun about, still on my knee, to face the new threat…

…only to see nothing there…

My eyes darted from side to side, gun following my sight.

"DROP YOUR WEAPON!" I heard, just as I felt the man I had saved jam his primary weapon into my side.

I rolled my eyes. "Godsdamnit, I know Humans don't have very good hearing, but c'mon!" I groaned. "We're _not_ alone."

"There's nothing out there." I heard from behind me. "Now _drop_ your weapon."

My ear flicked as I heard another faint -thump-, causing my pistol to gravitate towards that spot.

"Sir, I think she's right." The man beside me said.

"What are you talking about, Private? I don't see anything."

Another -thump-, and I felt the pressure on my side slowly ease up. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw another gunbarrel poke its way into my vision, aiming itself in the general vicinity of my target. "Just listen." I almost whispered.

I closed my eyes and focused entirely on the faint thumps.

-thump-

-thump-

 _-thump-_

There.

My eyes snapped open just as I loosed a round, a blue flicker being my reward.

In an instant, the entire unit behind me opened fire. Round after round sailed into the Split-jaw that had materialized only meters away from us. Just as quickly as it became visible, every gun present fired upon the creature, including my own.

 **-Click click-** I heard from my weapon just as the Split-jaw dropped dead.

"Ah, shit." I heard from behind me. Looking back, I saw the leader, whom I just remembered was called 'Sergeant Forge' by that Captain guy, raise his hand to his ear. "Form a defensive perimeter!" He ordered. "We've got Stealth Elites." He turned back to me and chambered a new shell in his shotgun. "I don't care if you helped us or not, you're still an unknown. Drop your weapon." He ordered with significantly less venom in his voice.

I shrugged. "Eh, it was empty anyway." I said before half-heartedly tossing it behind me. "But do ya mind _not_ pointing that at me? There's probably more of those… _things_ around, and I'd like to be able to fight them when they appear."

"Private Young," He deadpanned. "cuff her."

"WAIT!" A female voice suddenly shouted before _Professor Anders_ of all people sprinted forward, her chest rhythmically rising and falling due to exertion.

I blinked. "Okay, umm… what?" I stammered out. "Where did you come from?"

"Anders, its not safe here. Get back to the _Spirit_." Forge ordered.

She shot him a glare. "The _Captain_ thinks I can handle myself," She crossed her arms. "and _I'm_ inclined to agree."

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you even armed?"

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained." She said with a smirk before approaching me. "So, fancy meeting you here."

I gave her an awkward, lopsided smile. "Uhh, yeah?" I half-questioned.

"So, what're you doing here?"

"Uhh… It was warm?" I said with a shrug.

She pulled a datapad out of seemingly nowhere. "Hmm, okay…" She said, tapping a few keys. "Sergeant, what was she doing when you and your men got here?"

"Well, she seemed pretty occupied by that glowing ball thing over there." He said, thrusting a thumb over his shoulder.

She spared it a glance before turning back to me. "And what _were_ you doing?"

"Well… its kinda hard to explain…" I said. "Whatever language its written in, it's _obviously_ not Valerian, but…" I trailed off.

She raised an eyebrow. "But what?"

"But… I can _read_ it." I said, causing the Professor's eyes to widen. "I mean, its fucking _crazy!_ I'm on an alien planet, something I didn't even know was _possible_ yesterday, able to understand a written language I've not only never seen before in my entire life, but also one that _no one_ has seen."

Her mouth opened several times before clicking shut every few seconds. After about a minute, she finally managed to compose herself enough to speak. "But… _how?!_ " She shouted. "If you've never seen it before, how can you _read_ it?!"

"I don't know!" I yelled. "I just… I look at the writing, and I just _know_ what it means! Its like I've been reading it for my entire life!" I shouted. "Like… how do you know that the symbol for '5' is pronounced as 'five'? Its like that! And it's insane!"

"Well…" The Sergeant butt in. "What does it say?"

"And that's the thing!" I shouted. "It's just a fancy fucking _map!"_

She blinked. "What's on it?" She asked.

"Just coordinates to a place called… uhh… lemmie check…" I said, scurrying over to the ball thing. "Mee- May- Ugh, how the hell do you pronounce _that_?" I grumbled…

…shortly before the ball rotated and the five symbols spelling the planet's name illuminated.

I blinked. "It didn't do _that_ before…"

Anders was almost instantly at my side. "Interesting…" She said, her eyes wide, before gingerly placing her hand onto the ball.

The machine emitted a mechanical whir shortly before a holographic map of several star systems appeared throughout the room, lines drawing themselves between several of them.

Suddenly, my Faunus ears picked up a deep, gravely voice in the distance. I spun around and my eyes went wide. "Take cover!" I shouted while white rose petals burst from my palms, forming a Bo Staff.

Just as a Split-jaw finished speaking, it started firing off pink needles into our slowly reacting formation.

I jumped into the fray, my staff spinning about and deflecting most of their projectiles. Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw a ball of blue light land on the vehicle they brought. It exploded seconds later, taking the big-gunned jeep with it.

My face twisted into a snarl as the soldiers behind me finally started returning fire, only a few of them downed in the initial volley. I charged forward, staff still spinning, as more rose petals flowed up the length of my creation. Not only did they begin to mend the numerous needle-sized holes in my weapon, but they also transformed the ends of the staff into blades.

I let out a wordless battlecry, drawing their fire, as I charged into their ranks, throwing on my hood in the process.

I sprinted past a Split-jaw, my staff raking across its torso, and spun my weapon over my head, hitting another in the neck.

I rolled to dodge a massive green projectile just as the third Split-jaw fell from Forge's shotgun blast. I briefly heard the Sergeant call for backup over his comms. I shot him a glance for just long enough to be hit with a stream of searing blue projectiles.

I yelped in pain as I reflexively ducked behind a column, dodging a stream of green goo in the process. After their fire was directed away for a moment, I stole a glance at my would-be assailant.

My eyes widened at the sight of a _massive_ blue-armored creature. Several spikes grew out of its monstrous bipedal form. Its front, however, was occupied by a shield larger than _me,_ somehow held by one hand; the other held a massive cannon.

Thinking fast, I thinned out the connection of one of the blades to the rest of the staff, creating a makeshift blade launcher.

I jumped out and spun my weapon in a wide arc before severing the connection to the blade entirely, launching it towards my foe…

…only for it to skid harmlessly off its armor…

"Damnit Qrow!" I reflexively said before realizing he wasn't even on the same _planet_ as me…

…and promptly dodging another large green projectile fired by the Monstrosity. I rolled my eyes before charging at the beast.

It growled at me before winding up for a shield bash. I swiftly dodged inside its reach, swiping my staff-turned-spear along its exposed armpit as I passed. I spun my weapon about before plunging it under the monstrosity's armor and into its backside, earning a roar.

Suddenly, my weapon was torn away from my grip as my foe spun about, its shield raised.

My eyes widened, and I attempted to dodge.

I was just a split second too slow.

* * *

/-\ Professor Ellen Anders /-\

* * *

I watched in horror as Summer was batted aside like a ragdoll at the hands of the Hunter.

Surprisingly enough, she _wasn't_ turned into a fine red mist upon the shield's impact. Instead, she careened into one of the support pillars in the room, an odd red lightning forming around her as she hit the ground.

Without thinking, I sprinted over to her position and began dragging her semi-conscious form to safety.

 **-Fwoom-**

 **-BOOM-**

 **-Thump-**

I looked up to see the mangled body of a Hunter on the ground. Behind it sat a pair of- "Deus Ex Grizzly." I said under my breath. "Well, at least I know how to repair _them_."

"Uggg… Five more minutes, Rae…" I heard Summer say.

Turning my attention to her, now that we were at least _relatively_ safe, I saw a trickle of blood running down her face. "Medic!" I shouted.

Moments later, a marine ran up to us. He threw down her hood, exposing both her injury and her ears. He paused for a moment before applying some biofoam. "She'll be fine." He said. "Minor cut and a possible concussion." After that, he quickly ran off to treat someone else.

Her eyes blearily opened. "Uhh… hey there…"

"Are you alright?"

She paused for a moment. "Yeah… should be…" She said. "Aura's down, but I'm good…"

I was about to ask what she was talking about, but then I remembered that we were in the middle of a semi-active combat zone and decided to get us out first. "Okay, we need to move. Can you walk?"

She gave a hesitant nod. "Yeah, just… help me up…"

I did so, and she shook her head as if to clear her thoughts. "Ready?"

She nodded. "Ready."

Forge ran up to us. "That was reckless." He said.

I rolled my eyes. "As if _you're_ one to criticize on that front."

He strode up to Summer, and I was just about to intervene, but he stopped a few paces short of her. "I've to my eye on you." He warned before storming off.

"Heh, real charmer, that one." She said. "Think he'd let me have a gun?"

"Not a chance."

"Figures." She said before a portion of her cloak broke apart into rose petals and reformed as a sword in her hands. "Guess I'll just have to make do."

"H- How did you _do_ that?"

She shrugged. "It's my semblance." She said, as if it explained anything.

I decided to ask about that later.

The Sergeant's Grizzlies thundered forwards, shielding us from any and all harm with both their armor and their massive dual 120mm cannons.

As soon as we approached the hardlight bridge, though, it was destroyed by Covenant demolition squads.

"Get me to the east bridge's controls, I think I can get it activated!" I said into the comms.

We quickly followed the column, the sounds of war droaning out virtually anything else.

Less than a minute later, the column reached the bridge without incident. "Give us a minute!" I said over the comms before turning to Summer. "I could hack this, but is there by chance anything that says-"

"Activate?" She pressed a seemingly random button before the bridge flashed into being. "Thank me later!"

I nodded before turning my comms back on. "Let's get moving!"

"Well, that was quick." Forge remarked.

"You're telling me. Its kinda handy when someone can actually read Forerunner text."

A Grizzly thundered by us, shooting up aliens with its coaxial machinegun as it went.

As soon as everyone was across, Summer turned around and sprinted backwards. "Wait!" I shouted after here. "Where are you going?!"

She looked back at me. "I'm turning off the bridge!" She said before she sprinted out of Human hearing range.

"Anders! We need to move!" I heard from behind me shortly before the bridge flickered out of existence.

I saw Summer on the far side sprint towards the chasm, plasma bolts hot on her heels. "Is she insane?!" I shouted. "No one can make that jump!"

From the distance we were at it was hard to make out her expression, but I could've sworn I saw a wolfish grin crawl its way onto her face.

She leaped higher than I thought possible for a Human, even higher than _Olympic Athletes_ could jump.

I watched in dumb fascination as she soared through the air, taking fire all the while, before just _barely_ clearing the gap.

Red lightning flashed around her once more, and she wiped her brow free of imaginary sweat. "Alright, now that they can't follow us, let's go."

I shook myself free of my shock and managed to nod in affirmation before we continued on.

Plasma crashed all around the Grizzlies, but they handled it just fine as we passed the burning wreck of a Wraith. "Gods," Summer began. "wish we had these things, they could probably go head to head with a deathstalker!"

"I have so many questions." I said as we advanced.

Just as we were half way up the entrance ramp, the side doors all simultaneously blew off, allowing several packs of Hunters to move out.

"There's too many!" Forge said into the comms. "Ignore them and make a run for the exit!"

My lungs felt like they were on fire, rendering me unable to respond as I put every ounce of energy I had into my legs…

…only to start stumbling and falling behind.

I vaguely noticed Summer coming back for me, though I _definitely_ noticed when she hoisted me onto her shoulder into a fireman's carry.

She sprinted towards the exit, while carrying me, I might add, and we just cleared the ruins when a huge bolt of green plasma soared over us.

She continued to run, and soon enough, we were at the evac zone. "You good?" She asked.

"Yeah…" I said after a deep breath. "Good enough…"

She nodded and set me down shortly before several Marines held her at gunpoint.

"Oh, for the gods' sake…" She said, dispelling her sword which I just now realized she was still holding. "How many times do I have to tell you? I. Am not. _Hostile._ "

I quickly stepped between her and the Marines. "Lower your weapons." I ordered. "She is now under the protection of the Office of Naval Intelligence."

One of the Marines blinked. "Shit, we got a spook with us?"

"Yes, Private." I said, reading his rank from his uniform. "Now stand down."

They reluctantly complied, causing me to inwardly sigh in relief. _Technically_ , they didn't have to do as I said, given that I was only a civilian consultant.

I heard a Pelican land behind us and, at the behest of both the Captain and Sergeant Forge, we both entered.

We sat down directly across from each other in the otherwise empty troop bay. "Thanks for the save."

"Yeah, no problem." I said. "So, how did you do that?"

Her head tilted slightly in confusion. "Do what?"

"Everything!" I shouted. "First, I saw you get hit with enough plasma to easily kill you, given that you have no armor. Then you survive a shield bash from a Hunter that should've turned you into a red-colored puddle on the ground." I hummed. "And don't even get me started on how you can just… _make_ weapons out of thin air!"

"I mean, those first two are because of my aura, and the second one is my semblance." She said. "My family has always had a rose-related semblance." A handful of rose petals burst forth from her cape and formed a fairly intricate flower; a white rose to be specific. "I can make solid objects from rose petals." She said. "Usually, I use them to make or augment weapons, but I can also make larger scale objects if I wanted to."

She handed the flower over to me, and I examined it. The material had absolutely no give to it, no flexibility. Yet, it somehow retained the texture of a naturally-grown rose. I tried to break the stem of the flower, but It was extremely difficult. As soon as Summer saw what I was doing, she dissolved it, allowing the resulting petals to flow back into her palms.

I looked back at her. "You keep saying the word 'Semblance' as if it's supposed to mean something." I observed. "What _is_ it?"

She blinked before answering my question. "A semblance is an ability unique to you, or in some cases, your family." She said. "You've obviously seen what _mine_ can do, but I've seen loads more. Some semblances are extremely powerful, like how Tai can enter a trance for a few seconds before being able to dish out fifteen times the damage that he normally would with his next punch. Or they can be a passive effect, like how Qrow brings misfortune wherever he goes."

"Okay…" I said. "So, what's 'aura', then?"

She blinked again. "It's the physical manifestation of our souls." She said. "Most Huntsmen use it exclusively to protect themselves in combat, but some also use it in a directly offensive manner. Also, its what fuels a person's semblance."

"So, say I believe that souls _actually_ exist," Her face twisted into one of complete shock. ", how would someone go about _acquiring_ an aura?"

"You don't just _get_ aura. Every living thing has one." She said. "You just have to unlock it."

"And how would you do that?" I asked, somewhat interested.

"Well, there's three ways to do it. The traditional way is to spend months or even years training. You learn everything about yourself; physically, mentally, and spiritually." She paused for a moment. "The second way is that you can have someone unlock it _for_ you, but doing it this way will limit the amount of aura you're able to manifest for a few months while your body gets used to it." She paused again. "The third way is that it can unlock in times of extreme physical or emotional distress." She sighed. " _No one_ wants to unlock it this way, because whatever feeling _caused_ that distress is amplified by several times for _days_ on end."

"That's…" I trailed off, trying to find the right word. " _disturbing_." I finally settled on.

"Yeah… Method Three is easily the worst way to unlock your aura. I heard about some Vacuoan getting his village torched by bandits, but he not only stopped them when he unlocked his aura, he cut them to pieces." She shivered.

"Moving on, would it be possible for you to unlock the aura of anyone here?" I asked.

"It's… kind of a personal thing." She said. "I would need to use my soul to free yours, meaning it's a little intimate for both parties."

"That wouldn't make you fall in love with anyone, would it?"

She immediately blushed. "Oh gods, no!" She said. "I said it was _intimate_ , not me popping the question!"

"Well, that's a relief." I said before the bay fell into a comfortable silence.

Minutes later and a loud **-thunk-** announced our arrival at the _Spirit._

As the bay door dropped, I saw the Captain.

The _angry_ Captain.

"Welcome aboard, Professor." He said in a low tone.

'Way to go, Ellen…' I mentally berated myself. 'Let's see how you get out of _this_ one…' I thought as we both disembarked.

* * *

/-\ Contact Unknown; {Redacted} System /-\

* * *

I awoke from my stasis with slight reluctance, mentally lamenting the coming of this cycle's maintenance.

Already wanting to get it over with, I quickly stood up out of the makeshift stasis pod I built for myself eons ago.

As my armor assembled around my bare form, my Ancilla greeted me. "Greetings, Lifeworker." He said. "It has been exactly twenty-five standard years since maintenance was last performed."

I gave my affirmations before getting to work.

* * *

(A/N) Well… That was a thing.

A bit of a lore heavy chapter this time around. Most of the pieces of Humanity's origin on Remnant are now in place, well, enough to where the correct conclusion can _technically_ be drawn… though its quite a stretch from the pieces I've given at this point. I'll give you guys another hint, though: 'Truth will rise'.

Also, I'm now deciding that I won't be addressing Rem!Humanity's origin anymore beyond saying that the Forerunners didn't seed their planet nor is Remnant a Forerunner installation of any kind.

Yes, I am somewhat aware that Tai's semblance makes him basically One Punch Man, but I think it fits with his character. In V4 when he was teaching Yang, it seemed to me like hehad gone through something similar around her age. Having the ability to one-shot basically anything short of Kevin would make just about anyone go at least slightly mad with power. But it has the immense drawback of having to charge for a few _seconds_. Anyone who has ever fought, or even _studied_ fighting would know that in a 1v1, if you just sat still for a few seconds, that your opponent would just roflstomp you. Because of this, it is an immense risk to actually use, and almost impossible to activate if you don't have someone watching your back.

Now on to the reviews!

 **Mr Wolffe, Roboman, Guest 001, Firewyrm2 -** Yes, this will eventually tie into Ruby B-312, though not until after the events of Halo Wars. Also, this story _is_ cannon to Ruby B-312.

 **The SENDER and the TRAVELER –** Ehehehehe… -looks at Ruby B-312- Yea… that would be correct. Thanks for the complement, though.

 **CheesusChrist15 –** Thanks! Hope you liked this chapter as well!

 **THE Glorious Him –** Actually, they do… At least in gameplay… If you're referring to the scene where Red Team roflstomps a bunch of Elite Minors near the end, I just chalk it up to their pikes being energy-based… but then why'd the SMGs do anything? Eh, it doesn't really matter that much, maybe shields weren't standard yet? Sure, let's go with that.

 **Osterreicher97 –** Thanks for the complement! Though I find it weird that I'm now considered an author of something. It's not inaccurate, it'll just take some getting used to.

 **All Hail Lord Megatron –** Thanks!

 **Helljumper206 –** I certainly plan to.

 **Redbarachetta28** – Thanks!

 **Seven String Writer –** Yea, it is kind of a shame that there aren't more Summer stories, though that's what you get when she's already dead by the time even the Red Trailer takes place. To me, them being at odds with each other just makes sense, even if they're on the same side. On one hand, you have the Xenophobic UNSC and on the other, a somewhat idealistic non-human that's used to working with Humans not affiliated with the UEG. When you put it like that, a spook might suspect her to be an innie spy. I just hope I didn't overdo it with the marines mistrusting Summer, even if Anders seems on board somewhat.

 **Red October700 –** Ah, that's my bad with that. For future reference, the title of the next chapter will always be at the bottom of the page. I like the idea of a Jack-of-all-trades-master-of-none fighting style for the RWBYverse, it allows you to try things that you just can't with people like Cannon Ruby, who either uses her scythe or loses horrendously. Though, Summer might use a scythe later down the line, courtesy of Qrow giving her a few pointers… …but she's not gonna be as good as even Ruby is in cannon. Keep in mind she's considered an Elite Huntress because she beats people, not because she's a master of any one weapon. She kinda has to at least come along for the ride on the _Spirit_ , so I'll just go ahead and say yes.

 **Dovah117 –** Wort indeed! When I was writing the first chapter of this, I was also doing research for ch15 of the main story. Specifically, the Halo CE portions of it. The phrase may have stuck in my mind a bit.

 **475213 –** I laughed far harder at that than I care to admit.

 **Mecharic –** Thanks!

 **OverseerNooter –** He's not in heaven yet, still got too many covvies to send straight to hell first. Don't worry, though, when he finally gets there, he'll have _Three_ sticks and _Two_ rocks all to himself! He'd like that.

And that about does it for this chapter, hope you guys enjoyed! The next chapter will be titled 'Stark Reality', see ya guys then!


	3. Stark Reality

Chapter Three – Stark Reality

* * *

/-\ Summer Rose; UNSC _Spirit of Fire_ /-\

* * *

"Welcome aboard, Professor." The Captain said in a low tone as both Anders and I disembarked. He gave me a sideways glance. "Can we trust her?"

She shrugged. "Well, she _did_ save the life of a Marine when we were down there." She said. "She also charged head-first into danger to protect our troops while we waited for reinforcements."

He studied me for a moment before giving a curt nod. "Very well, Professor, I'll trust your judgement for the time being." He then turned back to me. "Just know that you're on thin ice. Act out of line on _my_ ship, and I'll shoot you out the airlock without a second thought."

I nodded. "Got it, you're the boss."

"That's what I like to hear." He said. "Professor, I do believe its time for your debriefing. You should come too, Missus Rose."

"Just Summer's fine. Missus Rose makes me feel old." I said in a joking manner, prompting a deadpan stare from the Captain. "Okay, so that's the tone we're going for… got it…"

We all filed into one of the many elevators in silence.

Minutes later, we arrived at a laboratory of some kind.

"Alright, Professor. What do you have to report?" The Captain asked after we had strode inside.

She sat herself down at her computer. "Well, it turns out that the device is, indeed, Forerunner in origin." She began. " _I_ could only get a map from it. Specifically, one to a system at coordinates… hang on a minute…" She said, surprise in her voice. "That's the Procyon system."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a blue person materialize out of one of the desks. After a moment, I recognized her as the woman that helped me; Serina, if I recalled correctly. "Arcadia colony, to be precise." She said. "Population a little under three million, mostly unexplored, but apparently quite the vacation resort."

"That about sums it up." Anders said before turning to me. "Is there anything else you could get from the device?"

Before I could answer, the Captain spoke up. "Why would she know anything about this?"

"Well…" I started. " _Apparently_ , I can read whatever language those ruins were written in."

"Oh, really?" Serina said, intrigued. "That is quite interesting. Your people deciphered the Forerunner script?"

I gave a sheepish smile. "About that… no." I said. "I dunno how or why, but I can just _read_ it."

"Interesting…" She said. "Was there anything else of note?"

I shrugged. "Eh, not really. Just something about how 'The flood are not to be released'; whatever that means."

"Is that all?" The Captain asked, causing me to nod. "Very well. Professor Anders, how important is this discovery?"

"Priority one." She answers without hesitation.

He nods. "Noted. I'll forward your findings to Admiral Cole immediately."

"With all due respect, Captain, I believe that _we_ should personally go."

He raised an eyebrow.

"Not only do I believe something important to be there, but also the Covenant owned the structure before us. We're looking at a possible Winter Contingency event for Arcadia, and that's on _top_ of whatever they're looking for."

His gaze drifted off into empty space, signifying that he was lost in thought. After a few seconds, he nodded. "Serina, contact Admiral Cole and let him know we're leaving, then set course for Arcadia."

"Aye aye sir, message sent. Spinning up FTL drive for one crazy mystery trip to Arcadia." She responded as the shutters to the room's vast windows started closing, leaving only the faint light of Anders's computers illuminating the room for a few seconds before the actual lights kicked in.

"Good." The Captain said before turning to me. "Even though you've introduced yourself, I haven't actually told you my name." He extended a hand towards me. "Captain Cutter of the UNSC _Spirit of Fire_."

I paused for a moment before eventually accepting his gesture. "So, why the formalities now? I mean, no offence, but your first impressions weren't… _great…_ "

"As I said before, Professor Anders vouched for you. That doesn't automatically make you trustworthy, but it _does_ get you a chance to prove yourself." He said. "But in the meantime, my warning still stands: one step out of line, and you're spaced." He paused for a moment to let that sink in. "Now Professor, you had some questions for our guest?"

She nodded. "Indeed." She took a breath. "I want you to activate my aura."

I blinked. "Umm… what?" I asked. "Why?"

"I can only ethically run so many tests on you, but on myself…" She trailed off. "Just imagine how many people we could save if every Marine had their own personal energy shield." A smile crept its way onto her face. "We might even be able to turn the war in our favor."

"That's not how aura works." I said, causing her face to twist in confusion. "I'm an elite huntress, one of the best fighters alive. I've studied single combat ever since I was ten, and I've had my aura unlocked since I was twelve." I subconsciously cringed when I remembered _why_ I began training. "Most people barely have enough aura to stop a single low-caliber bullet, let alone enough to survive an attack from a creep. Even with almost two decades of using aura, my own is still fairly weak. Heh, good thing my semblance is efficient."

Suddenly, the Captain cut in. "Are there any risks to this… _procedure_ the Professor wants to have done?"

I shook my head. "No. She'll be completely fine, and I'll only be tired out for a few seconds."

"So…" Anders continued. "Is there any way to gauge a person's aura before it is unlocked?"

I shook my head. "No. The first we'll know of your maximum aura level is when someone awakens it. Though, people with large auras tend to pass that onto their children." My ears flattened against my head as I remembered that the fate of my own children was still very much uncertain. After a few seconds of silent thought, I realized that these people might be my only way back to my family. "Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked.

She gave me a determined nod. "Yes." She said. "Are there any preparations that need to be taken?"

I shook my head. "No, just let me know when you're ready… If that's okay with the bossman over there." I nodded towards Captain Cutter.

"Just to be absolutely sure, there are _no_ dangers to this, correct?" I, again, dispelled his worries. This time, he studied my expression for several moments, likely looking for any trace of my statement being a lie. Finally, he crossed his arms and gave his decision. "Very well, you may begin when Anders is ready."

I looked to her, and she took a deep breath before nodding. I stepped forward and placed my left hand behind her head, the other, rested on her shoulder. Red lightning sparked into existence as I flared my aura, quickly solidifying into an omnipresent, but faint, glow.

" _For it is in others that we inspire courage. Through our actions, they find the strength to stand against the darkness and reach their salvation. Infinite in hope and unbound by fear, I release your soul; and by my hand, empower thee."_

* * *

Her soul was different than any I had heard described; not in a good way but not in a bad way either, just… _different_. The Professor of Aura back at Signal described one's soul as a turbulent place, like a never-ending maelstrom of emotion, self-expression, identity, and many other things that were hard to put into words.

Hers, while just as turbulent as I was expecting, seemed… oddly weak.

On numerous occasions, her soulscape attacked me, as I was intruding, just as I had expected. But instead of metaphorically slogging through neck-deep muck, as I had come to expect from my previous instructor, I was able to merely walk as if nearly unhindered, thus using _far_ less aura to accomplish my goal.

I strode up to the monument, hers being a picturesque statue of a young version of herself between a man and a woman, presumably her parents, all standing around a brazier.

Just what I was looking for.

I summoned a small amount of my own aura and lit her soul's beacon; igniting her aura for the first time.

A blinding white light surrounded me, signaling that I was successful, and I withdrew myself from her soulscape.

* * *

Blinking as I came to, I noticed the occasional multicolored spark dance its way across her wiry frame. I hesitantly retracted my arms from her. "That's… not supposed to happen…" I said.

Cutter immediately came to her side. "What's wrong? Are you alright, Professor?"

She seemed out of it for a moment, but quickly shook away the dizziness. "I'm… fine…" She said. "What was that? I feel… _different_ …"

"I don't know…" I said. "It was so weak." I noted. "Try summoning your aura." She gave me a confused expression as if asking how to do that. "It should be instinctive." I hummed. "I guess just try to imagine a forcefield around yourself."

She still adorned a face of confusion, however, unbeknownst to her, a few sparks traced their way across her frame before fading, signaling that she had done as I asked. Not wanting to hurt her, I merely poked her shoulder…

…and immediately recoiled when her aura shattered.

Her reaction mirrored mine, but as she raised her hand to rub the affected area, she finally noticed the multicolored aura sparks on her skin.

There were far fewer than there should be. Instead of the more normal lightning-like cluster, they were more akin to stray static sparks occasionally flickering on random parts of her body.

She stared at the visible manifestation of her aura for a few moments before slowly walking over to her lab equipment, eyes still transfixed on the spectacle.

"What did you do to her?" The Captain asked.

"I unlocked her aura." I said. "But… she just has so _little_. Like, she should be _dying_ right now, but look!" I gestured over to the scientist in question, who was happily poking herself with various needles. "She's just _fine_!"

He raised an eyebrow. "She's survived without aura for our entire lives, why would she suddenly need it now?"

"Well, its not so much that the body _requires_ aura to survive, its more what her aura level implies." I said. "With how little she had as a maximum and how slow her aura regeneration rate is, it implies that she's got a _catastrophic_ wound _somewhere_ and her body's funneling aura there to heal it."

"How do you tell what her 'regeneration rate' is?"

"Do you see the aura sparks that're still on her body?" I asked, receiving a nod of affirmation. "With how little aura she actually has, it should've filled up several times over by now."

He crossed his arms. "Why don't we leave the science to the Professor, Missus Rose." He said. "I have _several_ questions for you."

I blinked. "Umm, okay… Ask away, I guess."

"Serina." He said, causing the construct in question to appear.

"Hmm?"

"Please record her responses, as our resident professor is currently…" We both looked over to her, who was currently typing away at her computer while occasionally scanning herself with a handheld tool. " _occupied…_ "

"Aye sir, recording this session." She responds.

He turned back to me. "I'll skip what we already know. So first thing's first: how did you end up on _my_ bridge?"

I shrugged. "Honestly? I don't know. The last thing I remembered was activating my-" I cut myself off, these people didn't need to know about the Silver-Eyed Warriors or our powers. "-activating my daughter's aura, then I woke up here." I lied as the pieces fell into place.

Among Ozpin's few books on the Silver Eyed Warriors, there was one legend that stuck out to me.

That of the legendary archer, Reyna Rose.

It was one of the many legends that Ozpin actually confirmed to be true. In the story, she supposedly discovered a land called 'France' at a time when it was being invaded by a nation called 'England'. She made a friend by the name of Jeanne d'Arc and together they fought to save the French homeland.

Eventually, they were captured, but just as they were about to be executed, a blinding white light shone and suddenly, they were back on Remnant; specifically, in a region southwest of Vale. The story ended with them founding the village of Autre Arc – later becoming the seat of power for the province of Bar – and both finding loving husbands to raise their families with.

Everything made sense now. I had poured my Silver-Eyed energy into my daughter to keep her alive, causing one of us to inadvertently open a portal to the this ship with our powers.

I blinked when I felt someone lightly poke me, only to come face to face with the Captain, an expectant look on his face. "Your answer, Missus Rose?"

"Eheheh… can you repeat the question?" I asked, squeamishly.

He gave an exasperated sigh. "What caused the injuries you arrived with?"

"A Grimm." I said. "Pretty nasty one, too." Not a lie, but somewhat misleading. I wasn't about to tell him about the existence of Grimm-men any time soon.

After that question, he started asking extremely mundane things, such as what our 'technology level' is and other things like that.

Half an hour later, Anders finally snapped herself out of her science-induced spout of hyperactivity, and we headed to one of many mess halls that were inside the _massive_ ship.

"Sooo… umm… what do you eat?" The Professor asked.

I shrugged. "Just about anything that a Human can. Though I could really go for some fish right now." Her eyes darted up to my ears, an action which didn't go unnoticed. "Yeah, yeah, I'm a Cat Faunus that likes fish. Reeeeeeaaaaalll original."

"Umm… if you don't mind me asking, just how much like a cat are you?"

"Heh, surprisingly little." I said as we pushed open the doors to the mess hall, finding it about half-full. "But let's continue this conversation _after_ we get our food. I'm starving."

She nodded, and we went to get our meals, though I could feel more eyes upon me with every step I took. Sadly, they weren't serving any seafood, but that didn't stop me from choosing a particularly delicious-looking cutlet of pork and some applesauce.

Pretty much as soon as we sat down, she resumed her questions. "So, you were saying?"

I shrugged. "I mean, sure, I've got the night vision and obviously _these_ -" I pointed to my ears. "-plus, I really like fish and I jump really high when I'm scared… buuuut that's all I really have in common with _actual_ cats."

"Is that common?" She said, taking a bite of her salad.

"Some Faunus are much more like their animal counterparts, and some, like me, aren't." I said. "When I was still at Beacon, I caught one of the Wolf Faunuses sneaking out to howl at the moon occasionally. Or how's about the Cat Faunus – not me – that jumped onto the ceiling at the sight of a dog?"

We both giggled at that before she suddenly stopped. "Is it racist to laugh at that?"

"Was it embarrassing for him? Yes. Racist? No." I said. "Racist would be waving a fish in front of my face and meowing."

"So, you said that Humans are on Remnant, right?" I hummed in affirmation as I took another bite of pork. "Just curious, what're race relations like for you guys?"

"To be honest, they could be better." I said. "A lot of Humans hate us for seemingly no reason." Her face fell into a frown. "But there's a lot more that'll treat us fairly. On the flip side, there's also a lot of Faunus who're tired of this shit. Hell, there's a fringe movement in the White Fang that just wants violence."

She raised an eyebrow. "The White Fang?"

I paused for a minute. "Oh, right. I guess I haven't really told you about them yet. We're a Faunus civil rights organization. We run shelters, hand out food, organize peaceful protests, etcetera. But even though we're supposed to only help Faunus, I make sure that the Vale branch also helps Humans in need."

She adorned a downcast look. "Well, it looks like Humanity is the same on both our worlds, then." She says. "About five-hundred-seventy years ago, we were in the same boat."

I raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said you didn't have Faunus?"

"We don't." She clarified. "Our discrimination was even more petty than yours. We discriminated based on skin color and had the audacity to call it 'race'."

I scoffed. "Are you serious?" I said, disbelievingly.

She nodded. "Yeah." She sighed. "You've got the right idea going for peaceful protests, though. That's how we finally achieved equality." She paused for a minute. "But enough of that, I thought you were a huntress and also a mom, how do you even have _time_ for that?"

I shrugged. "Well, I don't do as much as I used to, that's for sure. On top of that, I was never really that high up in the ranks, either. But I still get a lot of respect whenever I _actually_ go to a meeting, seeing as I'm one of the few elite huntresses that's also a Faunus."

Suddenly, my sixth sense started acting up. I closed my eyes and started truly listening to my surroundings.

" _Hey, did you hear about…"_

" _I dunno man, I think they look like pumas…"_

" _What's that_ _ **freak**_ _doing here?"_

'Bingo.' I thought to myself, tuning out Anders's voice as I continued to listen in on their conversation.

" _Hey, isn't she the one that kicked you in the junk?"_

I heard two people start snickering before the original voice shushed them. _"Well, I think its time for some payback, don't you guys agree?"_ He said, receiving a round of affirmations.

My eyes shot open and I was greeted by Anders's concerned expression. "Some guys wanna start shit with me." I half-whispered. "I'm gonna try to avoid 'em, meet me outside." Not even giving her a chance to respond, I picked up my tray, still half-laden with uneaten food, and headed towards the exit.

"Hey _freak!_ " I heard. "Eat this!"

I easily sidestepped his announced attack, much to his disappointment.

I turned around to face him and raised an eyebrow. Dodging his follow-up punches were trivial compared to fighting Grimm, thus, he missed every single one. Eventually, he was absolutely _fuming_ in rage.

I smirked. "What? Cat got your tongue?" His eye twitched as I turned around and started walking towards a wall. "I'll be the bigger man here and just walk away." I announced.

He screamed in rage and my enhanced senses heard him start rushing me. At the last second, I sidestepped, causing his fist to impact the wall with a sickening crunch.

He fell to the floor, howling in pain, as he clutched his obviously broken hand.

Rather than gloat, I decided to leave well-enough alone, and dealt with my tray before leaving the mess hall. Outside, I was met with the Professor. "What was that about? You didn't do anything, did you?"

I smirked. "Heh, nope. _Technically_ , his fist just _happened_ to slam full-force into a solid metal wall and break into a million little pieces." I yawned. "But I think I've had enough excitement for one day, do you, by chance, know where I'll be sleeping?"

She shrugged. "I'll just look it up, quick." She said before doing so and leading me to my assigned room. Apparently, the Captain didn't trust me to be sleeping with the crew, so he put me in my own, separate, room. I somewhat shared his concern due to the pervert that wanted to see me undress when I woke up.

We made some idle chatter for a few minutes after we arrived before she departed for her lab, something about 'Analyzing her Dee-En-Ay', or something like that.

With nothing else to disturb me, I slipped into my bed, intending to get some sleep. However, my body had different plans, and I laid awake for almost half-an-hour before my eyes snapped open.

I sat up in my bed, now remembering the fact that one of my ancestors had traveled to someplace similar before.

And now I knew how she did it.

I sighed in exasperation when I realized that I'd have to actually focus on developing my Silver-Eyed powers. Tapping into my reserves, I realized that they had fully regenerated in the interim between Forever Fall and waking up on this ship.

Now came the hard part, unlocking that _specific_ power.

All the books I've read mentioned that all of my kind had a primary power that could be used on instinct in do-or-die situations. Looking back, it appeared that mine was Energy Manipulation, seeing as I was able to give Ruby my energy.

The books also mentioned that some of us have a secondary power that can unlock with enough practice. The catch being that my eyes _themselves_ needed to be unlocked first, the only way to do that being repetitive use of my powers.

Pinning all my hopes on my secondary power being at least _somewhat_ like whatever sent me here, I closed my eyes and focused, drawing upon my energy reserves.

As I opened my eyes, I saw a ball of white energy hovering before me.

I was used to seeing rose petal constructs by this point, but this was one of pure energy. I reached out my hand, already feeling the drain on my body, and touched the construct.

I've been at least somewhat practicing with my powers for the last few months, even if I'd been dragging my feet significantly, so it was no surprise when, as soon as my fingers made contact, the ball started to conform to my arm.

Moments later, it had enveloped the offending appendage, surrounding it in a mostly-transparent glow.

My eyelids grew heavy as Argilass began to truly set in. Sighing, I let the energy dissipate before falling into my bed once more.

This time, sleep came easily.

* * *

Years ago

* * *

I disembarked the Airship onto Beacon's Airdocks and stood in awe of the structure before me. "Wow…" My enhanced hearing picked up just about everyone's reaction as I started walking, all of which mirrored mine.

Save for two.

" _Ugh, quit drooling."_ A female voice said.

" _Ha! As if you weren't looking at Mr. Gunshow over there."_ A male, somewhat gravely, voice replied.

" _How do you know I was talking about_ _ **her**_ _if you_ _ **weren't**_ _looking?"_ The female voice said with a hint of smugness, completely dodging her friend's statement.

"OOF!" I let out as I accidentally walked into a lamppost. I rubbed my forehead. "Owwww…"

" _Where are you going?"_ The female voice sternly asked. A second passed before she scoffed. _"Oh please, remember why we're here. It's_ _ **not**_ _to make friends."_ She said. _"Or to hook up with some klutz in a cape._ "

I heard footsteps coming closer to me, as well as a feminine sigh of exasperation.

Looking up, I saw a red-eyed man in dress clothes. He offered his hand to me. "Hey."

I gave him a slight smile. "Hey." I reciprocated while accepting his gesture.

He pulled me up a bit faster than I was expecting, and I let out a slight yelp.

He blinked. "You're a Faunus?"

At this time, I noticed that my hood had fallen down, exposing my ears. I raised an eyebrow. "That gonna be a problem?"

"Uhh, n- no. Just… surprised is all."

I gave him another, larger smile. "Well, in that case, I'm Summer."

"Qrow." He introduced.

"Like the bird?" I asked, confused.

He rolled his eyes. "With a 'Q' instead of a 'C'." He motioned to a woman behind him. "That's Raven, my sister."

She just glared at us.

He smiled awkwardly. "Sooo, I heard this place has a new headmaster this year."

"Yeah, isn't he the youngest headmaster ever appointed?" I asked.

He shrugged. "I think Headmaster Oswald was slightly younger."

"Are you two done yapping?" The woman, Raven, I think, said as she came up to 'join' our conversation. She quickly grabbed ahold of Qrow's ear and began dragging him off. "C'mon, you can hit on girls later. We've got to get to opening ceremony."

"Uhh, see ya later!" He said. "Ow! Rae, do you really have to do this?"

She didn't respond, instead I think she tugged harder.

Fortunately for Qrow, a dead bird fell out of the sky and hit her in the face, causing her to momentarily forget about him and release his ear.

" _Damnit, Qrow!"_ I heard her yell in the distance.

He shrugged. _"Can't control my semblance, sis. You know that."_

Just then, I realized that _I_ needed to get to that ceremony too. I took off in a desperate attempt to not be late.

* * *

Present Day

* * *

I awoke with a slight yawn, smiling at the memory of how I met my partner at Beacon. 'Heh, Raven loved to tease Qrow about him having a crush on me.' I idly thought as I shook off the last vestiges of Argilass from yesterday's practice session.

The next few days passed mostly without incident. Anders kept on happily doing experiments on herself, usually involving needles, and we shared the history of our respective cultures. Well, more like we talked about random things that occasionally came up, given that neither of us were particularly interested in that sort of thing.

Anders and I were becoming fast friends, seeing as we talked every day. She told me some very basic things about where I was staying, such as the ship's name and its _massive_ length. She got a kick out of my reaction while simultaneously seeming woefully unimpressed at the length of even the largest Atlesian airships.

Several days later, an announcement over the intercom summoned me to Anders's lab. I shrugged, put on my cloak, and departed.

* * *

/-\ Contact Unknown; {Redacted} System /-\

* * *

"I have said this many times before, Lifeworker, and it appears I shall need to say it again." My Ancilla said. "You lack the required skills to repair your mother's machine."

I paused my work and turned to my suit of Manipular armor laying on a nearby bench. "And as _I_ have told you, call me by my name, for I have passed none of the Lifeworker trials."

"Yet, you are the most experienced Lifeworker alive."

"And the most experienced Engineer." I countered. "Yet, you don't address me with such a title."

"That is because your heritage is one of the Lifeworkers, Aurora Heralds Infinity."

I rolled my eyes. "My heritage is only half Lifeworker, if you recalled correctly." I retorted. "And what does heritage matter when my race is dead?" I sighed. "I feel drained. I shall retire for the evening." I announced, getting up from my somewhat awkward prone position.

"I still disapprove of your cooption of Human customs, Lifeworker."

"I don't see you teaching me any _Forerunner_ customs." I countered before turning for the exit.

"As I have stated before, my previous master forbade me from doing so; citing that Forerunner customs were flawed. Even if I disagree, I am bound by his wishes."

I paused my stride and gave my discarded armor a sideways glance. "Will you at least tell me _why_ he thought them flawed?"

He let out a mechanical sigh. "Perhaps when you are older, Lifeworker."

"Even only counting my time awake, I'm already seventeen years old."

"If we go by even the Human's primitive culture, you are still not an adult."

I scoffed before resuming my exit. "Good night, 487 Resplendent Notion." I only received a hum of acknowledgment as I retired for the third time in this four-month waking cycle.

* * *

(A/N) Another lore-heavy chapter. There won't be very many without any real combat, given the nature of Halo Wars, but I think they give a bit more depth to the story; as opposed to the story just being a novelization of Halo Wars with Summer awkwardly shoved in.

Though, due to the Forerunner sections, it should be pretty obvious that I plan on breaking from canon at some point. I'm just gonna flat-out say that the divergence will occur between HW1 and HW2, in that HW2 won't be a part of this story whatsoever.

I don't really have anything against that game, but on the flip side, I've never _actually_ played it. Though I am at least familiar, in passing, with the events during that particular game.

Back to the Forerunner part, her story doesn't line up with the events in the rest of the story. It'll be touched on in future chapters as to _when_ Aurora's story takes place. Though, you can get a pretty good idea just by looking at the few hints that I've dropped in the – so far – two scenes she's been in.

Yes, Summer was a 'Fanger in this universe. I just want to point out one thing, though. She 'died' _ten years_ before canon. Meaning, she's a part of _Ghira's_ Fang, not Sienna's. That'll become relevant down the line. I considered making her the leader of the Vale branch, but not only would that be Mary Sue-ish, but also, _someone_ would've mentioned it to Ruby in the main story by now.

I also kinda want to sneak in some snippets of Team STRQ in this fic, hence the scene with S_RQ meeting each other… and Qrow's semblance immediately throwing a tantrum. I won't get to fit them in every chapter, as sometimes it just wont fit the tone.

Originally, I was gonna have Summer's ancestor go to Tyria at the time of Guild Wars Prophecies (Hence the name Reyna, and her being described as an archer), but then I realized I'd have to explain how the hell Humanity got _there_ too, and I decided to say 'fuck it'. So that's the story of how Jaune Arc came to be descended from Joan of Arc.

Anyway, review time!

 **Guest 001 –** I would say I'm getting sick of people reminding me of that fic… but then I remembered that I haven't posted a chapter in two goddamn months. Hope you guys like the one I posted alongside this.

 **Guest 002 –** You'll find out.

 **Dragon Lord Syed –** That would, indeed, be interesting, wouldn't it?

 **Mr Wolffe –** Nope. No Human/Forerunner hybrids here. -Sweeps their ancestry under the rug-

 **Dovah117 –** She is a Reclaimer, actually, the only reason why it didn't activate immediately was because she wasn't physically close enough. That actually is a Forerunner, and they're canonically not extinct. Besides the Ur-Didact taking his little power-nap in Requiem, supposedly thousands of Forerunners left the galaxy, vowing never to return, after the Forerunner-Flood war. This will, indeed, be connected to Ruby B-312, which is why I keep referring to it as 'the main story'… besides the fact that it's gonna be the longest _by far_.

 **Osterreicher97 –** It's not just the Silver Eyes that make up the 0.4%, its basically all the Remnant things (Faunus traits, Aura generation, etc.). While that amount of DNA might seem insignificant, keep in mind that the difference between Humans and Chimps is 1.2%, meaning that this is actually pretty large. I'm probably still gonna blow up the shield world, because what I have planned requires the _Spirit_ to not have a slipspace drive. Though that might change, seeing as that's still 5-8 chapters away and I'm very much known for changing my mind. That is, as long as I can think of an alternative that kills their drive (without it just randomly breaking, that is).

 **Mid Level Fighter –** Thanks! Glad you're enjoying them! Aurora is not the Librarian, nor is she a pseudo-reincarnation like the Iso-Didact/Bornstellar is to the Ur-Didact. I don't own a copy of Primordium nor Silentium, but I'm currently in the process of re-reading Cryptum. I'm still in what I remember as the beginning and dear _god_ I missed a lot when I read it the first time.

 **The SENDER and the TRAVELER –** I already have their origin picked out, and Remnant wasn't intentionally seeded by any faction.

And that's it! Next chapter, we start on the Arcadia arc with 'Paradise Lost'. See ya guys then!


	4. Paradise Lost

(A/N) Aaaaand its back! Sorry this fic has been gone for a while, but this chapter was not only a bit difficult to write, but I also wanted to get FoR over and done with. Now that _that's_ accomplished, its time for this one to get rolling again. Same as the main fic.

Now, without further ado, on with the chapter!

Edited 5/21/19 because I wasn't happy with the ending.

* * *

Chapter Four – Paradise Lost

* * *

/-\ Summer Rose; UNSC _Spirit of Fire_ – Observation Deck /-\

* * *

I strode into Anders's lab nonchalantly and approached my friend, who was sat at her desk. "You called?"

She nodded, finishing typing something on her computer, before turning to me. "Just a moment, the Captain's on his-" The elevator doors hissed open, as if on command, and the man in question strode out. "-way…" She sighed. "Okay, so the preliminary analyses of the tests I've run on myself after Summer unlocked my aura have come in." She said, typing away at her computer as Captain Cutter approached us. She hit one final key and the screen flashed with three columns of labeled numbers. She crossed her arms and cocked her head, seemingly impressed with herself.

"Uhh, what am I looking at?" I asked.

"DNA comparisons." She said.

I raised an eyebrow and leaned on her desk. "You still haven't explained what that is."

She blinked. "Is… is Elementary Biology not taught on Remnant?"

"What? Like which order your organs are supposed to be arranged in?" I asked, half-confused at what this 'Dee-en-ay' had to do with field medicine.

"No, not anatomy…" She trailed off. "I'm talking about how living things work. Cells, DNA, amino acid chains, bacteria, that stuff. Y'know, Biology!"

"I have no idea what those things are." I deadpanned.

Her mouth opened and closed several times before she pulled up a picture of a weird twisty ladder thing. "What is this?" She asked, expectantly.

I shrugged. "Modern art?"

She facepalmed. "Its Deoxyribonucleic Acid, or DNA for short." She said. " _Very_ long story short, its what tells your body how to… well, be _you_." She dismissed the picture and brought back the original three columns of numbers. "I'll address your… _educational shortcomings_ later, though. Right now, I need to share my findings."

The Captain crossed his arms. "And what would they be, Professor?"

"Well, I've got three different samples of DNA here. The center one is a baseline Human, specifically mine from a stray hair I found on my keyboard. The left one is Summer's, and the right one is me _after_ my aura was unlocked." She pointed to the bottom row of numbers. "As you can see, Summer has 0.4% of her DNA made up of a previously unknown compound. For our purposes, I'm calling it 'Rosarium'." She traced her finger over to the center field, the one that represented hers. "Since it was unknown, it should be fairly obvious that the keyboard sample collected does _not_ have any in it. But here's where things get interesting…" She said as she traced her finger over to the final field. "My sample, post-unlock, contains 0.004% Rosarium; one one-hundredth of the amount Summer's has." She turned to face me. "By unlocking my aura, you managed to change me on a _genetic_ level."

"Is that bad?" I asked. "You made it sound bad."

"Well, I don't _feel_ any ill-effects." She said. "I actually feel… _refreshed_. I mean, this makes me sound kinda old, but I feel like a teenager again." She coughed into her fist. "But back on track, Rosarium also appears in different chromosomes in the both of us." Another picture appeared. "For you, it's present mostly in chromosomes one and seventeen, but it's also present, in smaller amounts, within two, thirteen, and, oddly enough, only _one_ 'X' chromosome. For me, it's entirely concentrated in chromosome fourteen."

"Okay… that went rightover my head." I admitted, making a whooshing gesture with my hand.

"Not all of us have doctorates in Biology, Professor." The Captain commented.

"To be honest, I have no idea what this translates to." She said. "We've already seen how weak my aura is compared to Summer's, but whether that can be attributed to the placement of Rosarium, its quantity, or both, I have no idea." She shrugged. "It would be a lot more helpful if I had a sample size greater than two, though."

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking Summer to unlock more auras?"

"Only if you're both comfortable with it." She amended.

Silence hung in the air for a moment before Cutter sighed. "We'll see." He said.

"Captain," Serina said, appearing on a nearby 'holotank', as Anders called it. "we're dropping out of slipspace within two minutes. I suggest you make your way to the bridge."

He nodded to the construct. "Very well." He turned back to us. "I don't want to hear about any unauthorized experiments, clear?"

I nodded and Anders gave a curt- "Crystal, sir."

"Good." He turned to the elevator. "I'll be on my way, then." With that, he swiftly exited.

I sighed after the elevator doors closed on the Captain. "You know I don't want to unlock anyone else's aura, right?" I asked, turning around to face my friend.

She smirked. "Well, you did for me."

I huffed. "That was different." I said. "We're friends. I trust you."

She raised an eyebrow. "You hadn't even known me for an entire day yet." She not-so-helpfully pointed out.

"The answer's still no." I deadpanned.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine." She walked over to her desk and grabbed her datapad. "So, how's about we get back to our discussion about Remnant, then? I believe you were telling me about Beacon?"

"Hmm? Oh yeah." I said, accepting her attempt to change the subject. "Well, let's start out with how things run for the students. Every first-year team has to go through initiation-"

"Hazing?" She interrupted, surprised at my implications.

I blinked for a moment and was about to answer 'no', but then I remembered Ozpin's slightly sadistic methods. "Well… yes and no…" I said. "It's a lot more complicated than that…"

* * *

Years Ago

* * *

" **Would all first-year students in block one please report to Beacon cliff for initiation."** A male voice said over the intercom. **"Repeat, all first-year students in block one to the cliffs."**

I yawned, my ears stretching beneath my hood, as I rose from my seat at the table, my breakfast only half-eaten.

In my tired stupor, I only managed to _just_ avoid running into another student who had coincidentally rose from the table behind me.

"Sorry!" I yelled as I slipped past my classmate. Unfortunately, I only partially succeeded, and wound up knocking his tray to the floor.

Immediately, I crouched down to help him pick up the offending object, but he cut me off. "Nah, its alright." He said, his voice surprisingly cheery for it being just after dawn. I stood back up, awkwardly, and gave him a crooked half-smile as he stood as well. "Taiyang Xiao Long," He said before thrusting a thumb at himself. "bonafide badass!" A toothy, and confident, grin stretched from practically ear-to-ear on his face.

I blinked before extending a hand after shifting my tray over to the other. "Summer Rose, uhh…" I trailed off, searching for a title for myself. "Yeah, I got nothin'." I said, an embarrassed blush forming on my cheeks.

" **Final call for initiation."** The intercom boomed. **"Repeat, final call."**

I blinked. "Sorry, I've gotta go!" I said, speeding off in the direction of the cliff.

When I arrived, I saw several students standing on grey squares, each adorning the Valerian emblem. By the time I got there, there were only two spots left, each either side of Qrow and his sister (whom I'd forgotten the name of). Not really wanting to be next to the crabby girl, I stood next to the bird man.

Ozpin raised an eyebrow at me. "I've heard of the famous 'teenage hunger'," He started. "but this is certainly a new one." He said, amusement dripping from his voice.

I gave him a quizzical look before he made a downwards motion. I followed his non-verbal instruction…

…and immediately wanted to curl up and die in a corner…

I had brought my half-full cafeteria tray to initiation.

Seeing my embarrassment, he decided to get everything started. "Just leave it on the ground in front of you; I'll have you collect it after initiation is over." He turned to the rest of the group. "Ah, Mister Xiao Long, so generous of you to join us." He sarcastically said. "Please be more on time from now on."

"Uhh, yes sir." He meekly replied.

"Good, now, with that out of the way, let us begin." He said. "You have all trained to be warriors for many, many years. Finally, it is time for your abilities to be gauged in the metaphorical fires of the Emerald Forest." My enhanced hearing picked up a few murmurs throughout the crowd. "You have probably heard the rumors of how teams are assigned, let me clarify a few things for you." He said. "You will be assigned to teams _today_." I heard someone, a woman, 'aww' in response. "In fact, you are currently standing adjacent to the combat partner you'll have for the next four years." He smirked.

I blinked. "Umm, what?" I asked.

"Yes, Miss Rose, you and Mister Branwen are, indeed, partners."

"I disagree," His sister said. "Qrow is _my_ partner."

"Now now, Miss Branwen." Ozpin started. "If you were to count how many people are present, and attempt to assign them partners based on adjacency alone, you would find that your spot matches up with Mister Xiao Long's and that your twin sibling's matches up with Miss Rose's." He cut off her protests with a wave of his hand. "But I digress, you will all travel to the northern end of the forest where you will find ruins containing one or more relics. Your objective is to retrieve _one_ relic for each partner pair and return to this spot, where I will be waiting with your final grade for this exercise." He took a sip of his coffee and gave us a smirk. "Now, get to it, then." He said as I was suddenly launched into the air, still holding my tray.

* * *

Present Day

* * *

I sighed as my little trip down memory lane ended, unconsciously rubbing my pocket.

"Summer?" I heard Anders ask. "What's wrong?"

I gave her a sad smile. "I miss them…" I said. Seeing her quizzical look, I took out my wallet and showed her the picture of my family that I kept inside.

Tai and I were sitting on the porch of our new home in Forever Fall.

"Is this is your family?" She asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, the baby in my arms is Ruby and the toddler climbing on Tai's shoulders is Yang. Heh, this picture's almost five years old now…"

She smiled. "The little one looks just like you." She said. "Umm… no offense, but what's with Yang?"

"Oh, umm… well… _technically,_ Yang's my stepdaughter… but that doesn't make a difference to me." I said, truthfully. "I love her just as much as Ruby."

I felt a hand on my shoulder. "We'll find a way to get you back to them." She said.

"Yeah…" I said. 'I just hope Ruby got away…' I mentally added.

" **Summer Rose to the bridge."** The intercom boomed. **"I repeat, Summer Rose to the bridge."**

"Wonder what he wants…" I wondered out loud.

She shrugged. "I'm slightly curious myself." She said, handing the picture back to me as I stepped into the elevator.

Moments later, I stepped out onto the bridge. "You called?" I asked, an eyebrow raised.

He sighed. "I'm not going to sugar coat this, I still don't trust you." He said. "But in your debriefings, you have said on multiple occasions that you were a 'Huntress', someone that protects people, correct?"

I gave him a sharp nod. "Yes, that's what we do. We put ourselves forward to protect those who can't do it themselves." I said, not even knowing how many times I'd told him this before.

"Then consider this a chance for you to earn my trust." He said before bringing up a map. "The Covenant are here in force, and their first target was Pirth City. We're still in the middle of evacuating civi-"

"Get me down there." I commanded, instantly knowing where this was going.

He blinked before nodding. "Very well. I've read that you can materialize your own weapons, but I still feel that I should ask if you need any."

"Yeah, I'd _very_ much like to have my weapon back, please and thank you."

"We don't carry any compatible ammunition nor did we find any on your person. You'll just have to make do with what we have." He said. "There's an armory a few decks up, I'll have someone waiting for you at the elevator. After you grab a weapon, the two of you will head to the hangar bay. Your escort will know where to go."

I nodded in thanks and stepped into the elevator once more. When the doors opened, a semi-familiar face was there to greet me. "Uhh, do I… know you?" I asked, hesitantly.

The man in front of me gave a smirk. "Yeah, you stole my pistol back on Harvest." He said before motioning for me to follow him. "Private First-Class Young." He introduced.

"Summer Rose." I returned, just as we strode through the armory door. "You wouldn't happen to have anything similar to my weapon, would you?"

He shrugged. "Probably, describe it."

"A clip-fed 4-gauge sawed-off shotgun with a x2 scope and a 5-round internal magazine."

"Uhh, we've got 8-gauge pump-action shotties with 12-round internal magazines…" He suggested.

I raised an eyebrow. "Clip-fed?"

He shook his head. "Nope, gotta load 'em one shell at a time."

I sighed. "Guess it'll have to do for now…" I said, allowing him to lead me to the shotgun rack and taking something labeled an 'M90 Close Assault Weapons System' as well as a belt pouch containing ammunition. "Alright, Cutter said you'd lead me to the hangar?"

He nodded. "Yeah, here's a commbead, too." He said, handing me an object that bore resemblance to a hearing aid. "It'll let you contact the _Spirit_ as well as any UNSC forces in the area. Now, if that's everything, we should go."

I gave my affirmations and we set off towards the hangar at a fairly brisk walk, given that civilians were still in danger. The entire way there, I received dirty looks from most people we passed.

Only minutes later, we arrived. Young then led me to another dropship, this one with its pilot leaning up against its open bay door. "Alright, here's your ride." He said before looking away and tapping his ear a couple times. "I just got orders to get back to my unit. Think you can handle things from here?" I nodded, and he took off.

Just then, the intercom boomed. **"All combat personnel to your designated staging areas; repeat, all combat personnel to staging."**

I tried to strike up a conversation with my pilot as I boarded, however, I was only met with a dismissive 'hmph'. Consigning myself to a silent flight, I sat down and buckled up moments before I felt the craft lurch forwards.

On the way down, I studied my weapon thoroughly, analyzing how I could augment it with my semblance. A smirk crossed my face as I settled on a design. Though it wouldn't be anywhere near as versatile as Chromatic Rose, _my_ shotgun, I could still think of a form that would enhance its usefulness.

Just as I brought myself out of my own thoughts, the craft began to violently shift; side to side, up and down. I'd been hot-dropped into Nevermore territory enough to know that this signified the craft was evading enemy fire.

Moments later, the rear of the craft was engulfed in green plasma (as Anders had informed me of what it was) and the door was melted straight through.

As if the situation wasn't bad enough, the craft also fell into a violent flat spin.

Knowing that it'd be nearly impossible to save it, I unbuckled my restraints and crawled along the left wall towards the now-destroyed door. Thanks to not only the pressure differential, but also the centrifugal force, I was almost immediately sucked out of the dropship.

Due to my decade plus experience as a Huntress, I oriented myself into a spread-eagle form without even thinking, ironically enough, giving me time to _actually_ think.

My eyes widened when I saw just how _high up_ I was; about eight kilometers if I were to guess.

Every Huntsman worth their salt knows about a convenient thing called 'terminal velocity', but the reason why my current altitude was so concerning was due to the fact that the air was _far_ too thin up here to live without gradual acclimation.

Knowing the danger of passing out mid-fall, I pulled my limbs in and oriented myself straight down.

As I shot downwards, I noticed that, not only was darkness creeping into my vision, but also that the sound of the howling winds was starting to fade.

I closed my eyes and started breathing deeply, yet evenly, trying to wait out minute or so that I'd be in the danger zone.

Ever so slowly, the wind started getting louder, signaling that the danger was passing.

I opened my eyes and judged my altitude to be somewhere between two and three kilometers, meaning that it was time to start slowing down.

I spread out my body as I fell through a plume of smoke coming from a burning portion of the city below.

Even though I felt my body start to decelerate, I was still going _far_ too fast for a safe landing. With that revelation, I willed rose petals to burst from my form and cling to the gaps between my limbs, forming a makeshift wingsuit.

In the distance, I saw an obviously _civilian_ transport take off…

…only to be shot down moments later…

I growled in anger and spotted two more grounded transports, though one was already besieged by the Covenant; only a lone soldier, albeit, one wielding a heavy machinegun, to bravely stand against the tide. I recovered from my current stall and angled my fall towards the transport.

As I got closer, I saw an enemy dropship place itself between me and my target, causing me to grin wildly. Deciding to use one of Qrow's landing strategies, I summoned a giant scythe, though this one was double-edged.

I angled myself so that I would pass directly over it while hugging the weapon as tight as I could physically manage. Moments later, I felt the massive deceleration as my scythe dug into and bisected the forked dropship, slowing me down just enough to where I could execute a landing roll and pop up with relatively little aura usage.

The moment I was on my feet again, I dematerialized the webbings between my limbs, freeing them, and began using them to augment the shotgun on my back. Simultaneously, I rushed into the fray, pirouetting with my scythe and bisecting enemies left and right.

The sound of plasma scorching the ground echoed from behind me, swiftly superseded by a Banshee flying overhead.

My eyes narrowed and I thinned out the connection between my scythe's blade and its haft. I spun my weapon around rapidly and severed the two parts at _just_ the right time, launching the blade at the offending aircraft.

Moments later, my projectile embedded itself into the Banshee's cockpit, causing it to spin wildly out of control and plummet towards the ground.

I spun around, reforming the haft of my former scythe into a spear, and charged towards a nearby group of enemies; one that the armored soldier wasn't currently engaging.

" _Spirit of Fire,_ Sierra-130," I heard a raspy, yet feminine voice say over comms. "a civilian just fell from the sky and is now engaging Covenant forces with some sort of glowing weapon; please advise."

I spun around. "Summer Rose: Huntress Extraordinaire." I said, accentuating my boast with a bow that I also used to dodge the swipe of an Elite's energy sword.

"She's with us, Spartan." I heard the Captain say as I twirled my spear around and shoved it into my opponent's neck. "It's a long story as to how we picked her up, short version: keep an eye on her, but she says she wants to help."

I disintegrated my spear as I pulled it out of my last enemy, allowing the petals to flow into my cloak as I turned to actually face the machinegun-toting soldier. "You got this covered?" I asked. "I hear civilians and plasma fire coming from _that-_ " I thrust a thumb over my shoulder. "-direction, and they probably need cover."

" _Spirit_?" She asked.

"Granted." He responded.

I nodded and took off towards the sounds of fighting, running as fast as I could. As I sprinted through the surprisingly intact section of city, I came across multiple groups of bodies, fueling my rage further.

Eventually, I came across some aliens besieging a lone police officer guarding a group of civilians huddled just inside of a building. I snarled and drew my slightly augmented shotgun. I shouldered the weapon, making sure the raised, stock-affixed spike was sitting above my shoulder, and pulled the trigger.

A Grunt recoiled in pain before dropping, causing me to gain the attention of its comrades. "Why don't cha pick on someone your own size?!" I spat out, pumping my weapon and charging the group's Elite.

It let out a roar as I neared and perforated another of its underlings before sticking the under-barrel bayonet into yet another one.

Finally reacting, it unleashed a torrent of plasma accompanying an undoubtably powerful kick. I slid under the kick, only catching a single plasma bolt, and fired upwards at the alien, dropping its shields. Not even thinking to reload, I raked my bayonet across its upper leg and into its torso.

It dropped to the ground, but didn't give up just yet as it sprayed me with more plasma. I winced as I caught another pair of bolts, but otherwise reacted in time as I shoved the weapon into its throat and pulled the trigger. I sighed in relief as the life finally left its body.

'These things really give the Grimm a run for their money…' I idly thought before turning back to the cop and his charges…

…only for my eyes to widen as I saw him hunched over, clutching a wound in his side.

He gave me an appreciative smile. "Heh, much obliged…" He coughed into his hand, revealing that it had contained blood when he pulled his fist away. He sighed. "Don't worry 'bout me, lass, fooker got me wit' an energy dagger, I'm already dead." He gave a chuckle. "Just… get 'em to safety…"

I nodded somberly. "Can do." I said, causing him to smile.

He held out his weapon, a submachinegun of some kind. "Here… I won't be needing this… anymore…" He said before exhaling his last breath and slumping against the building, dead.

I nodded before taking it and turning to the civilians. "Is this all of you? Was there anyone left behind?"

One of them shook his head. "No, there were still loads of people at the subway."

Just then, a flight of UNSC Hornets flew overhead. "This is Razor Five-Seven, on station to cover civilian evacuees."

I keyed my mic. "Copy, Razor. I'm sending a group towards the air- err- _space_ ships. You got 'em?"

"Ay-firm. Covering."

I motioned to the direction of the evacuation ships. "Go, they'll cover you."

They nodded and took off.

"Summer, _Spirit_ here." I heard over comms. "We've got reports of a small pocket of civilians and Colonial Militia holding out against a Covenant assault. You're the only one available to respond."

"There's still more civilians at the subway!" I yelled.

"Yes, and we're sending forces to guard the entrance, but we can't spare anyone to save those men."

I sighed. "Fine. Point me in the right direction."

"I'm directing a Pelican to pick you up, they're approximately fifteen clicks from your current position and they need help ASAP."

In the distance, I heard the now-familiar sound of the dropship's engines. "I hear it."

Moments later, my transport set down and I climbed on board. The flight was only a few minutes long and mostly silent, though this time we weren't being shot at.

"LZ's too hot to land." The pilot announced. "I've been told you can survive a drop from a click up, that right?"

"Yeah," I said. "if this's my stop, I'll just get going."

The hatch opened. "Good luck out there." He said as I unbuckled my restraints and jumped.

I summoned my wingsuit once more and glided down, scanning the area for hostiles all the while. It didn't take long to notice a storm of plasma bolts descending on a position, the occasional burst of tracer rounds returning fire.

I took a sharp dive and pulled up at the last second, meaning that, while I wasn't losing very much altitude anymore, I was practically _screaming_ through the streets.

I smirked as I lined up my trajectory with a Hunter, summoning my sword and forcing it out in front of me to act as a lance. Just as the idea to actually _use_ a lance entered my mind, my sword entered the Hunter's, and I sailed through the enemy into an adjacent Elite.

Finally slow enough to fight, I rematerialized my webbings into a heater shield as I landed with a roll.

The moment I popped up, my position was assaulted by plasma, a few bolts getting through before I could pull up my shield.

Fighting through the pain, I quickly dispatched the Elite that I'd landed on plus his escorting three Grunts.

Hearing a Hunter's signature weapon charging from behind me, I quickly ducked into a building. Just as I'd settled into my position, a stream of green plasma washed over my head, causing me to wince from the heat.

The moment the stream stopped, I charged into the fray once more. Diving under my foe's shield bash, I quickly scurried up onto its back and buried my blade into the nape of its neck. It let out a pained roar before falling to the ground, emitting an audible **-thunk-** in the process.

I did a quick mental gauge of my aura, coming up with somewhere around sixty percent. "Ugh, sometimes I hate my low aura pool…" I thought aloud as I dematerialized my sword, adding it back to my usable reserve.

I drew the SMG off my hip and experimentally tapped it against my shield for a moment. I nodded, settling on a design, before making a hole in said shield, reabsorbing the resulting petals.

An explosion somewhat nearby startled me. "Summer, _Spirit_ here." I heard from my commbead. "The militia are getting slaughtered, what's your ETA?"

"I'm a couple blocks away!" I shouted, hopping onto a nearby rooftop. As I jumped, I saw my target; the large, semi-fortified building flooded with plasmafire. "I see 'em!" I shouted, leaping from the rooftops onto an Elite Minor with its back turned.

The impact caused its shields to pop, the trio of new bullet holes in its skull caused _it_ to drop.

The accompanying Grunts shrieked, some running while others took aim at me with their plasma pistols. The rounds that I didn't dodge bored into my shield while I lit 'em up with my SMG.

My hearing picked up something bad happening behind me and, on instinct, I threw the shield behind my back as I finished off the last Grunt.

I felt something latch onto it as I spun around. Looking it over, I saw a bright blue ball stuck to it. My eyes widened, instantly recognizing it as a plasma grenade.

I quickly threw the offending item towards a group of enemies, dematerializing as much of the shield as I could while spraying SMG rounds into the nearest enemy.

The grenade exploded, taking the remainder of my shield and two Jackals with it.

Suddenly, the door of the building flew open, a trio of weapon-toting civilians emerging. "Come on!" One shouted. "We need help on the other side!"

I sprinted back into the structure, tracers trailing behind me as a parting gift. I sighed in relief as the door slammed shut behind me, my militia comrades barring the door with a heavy steel beam.

"You're good in a fight." Another one commented.

I smirked. "Yeah, comes with being an Elite Huntress." They gave me questioning looks before I just waved them off. "It'd take too long to explain." I said. "The UNSC sent me, where do ya guys need help?"

Their leader, a man with an assault rifle, motioned me to follow while his two friends stayed put. "We've been holed up here for a few hours now, got a few dozen civilians from the surrounding slums." He explained. "This used to be a SinoViet Factory," He gestured to several partially-assembled trucks. "thing about 'em is they've usually got a yacht to ship around their execs. We've got the thing up-and-running, but the covvies've got a Tyrant a few blocks away, we'll never make orbit."

I raised an eyebrow. "So, I'm guessing you want me to take it out?" I asked.

"Not alone." He said as we walked into a room containing two UNSC Troopers.

The one on the left, toting an assault rifle, nodded. "Sergeant Timmons." He introduced before nodding to his partner. "This chatterbox over here's Corporal Amatson." He said, earning a glare from said Corporal.

I gave a mock, two fingered salute. "Summer Rose, leader of Huntsman Team STRQ."

He blinked. "Not even gonna ask..." He muttered under his breath. "Anyways, the _Spirit_ said you're pretty much SF, so I'll assume you can handle yourself."

"Damn straight." I said. "So, what's the plan?"

"Amatson'll provide overwatch from the roof of this building while you and I make a beeline for the Tyrant. We blow it up, then leg it back here to catch the boat outta here."

I shrugged, exchanging my SMG for my shotgun and chambering a round. "Eh, I've heard worse plans. You guys ready?"

They gave their affirmations and we set out. He and I cleaved our way through Covenant forces, the rapport of Amatson's rifle occasionally ringing out among the chaos.

Just as we were about to reach the AA gun, I heard a youthful scream of terror coming from a recently-passed alleyway. My eyes widened, and I immediately doubled back, sprinting to where I heard the scream.

When I arrived, I paled at the sight of an Elite holding a boy by his neck, energy dagger poised to impale him.

I made an audible growl and charged; shotgun aimed directly at its midsection. Thankfully, I arrived in time and the monster fell, releasing its prisoner.

I crouched down next to him. "Hey," I said in a sweet, motherly tone. "are you alright?"

He looked up at me, cheeks stained with tears. "Y- Yeah…" He sniffled. "I- I think so…"

A Banshee howled overhead, scaring him. My gaze turned serious. "What's your name? How old are you?" I asked.

"A- Adam." He said. "Adam Parks, I'm s- seven."

'Damn,' I internally cursed. 'one year too young for firearms training.' "Listen, Adam, sweetie." I said, retrieving my SMG. "Do you know how to use this?" I asked.

"K- Kinda…" He said. "Just… aim and pull the t- trigger, right?"

"Close enough." I said. "Here, let me show you how to reload it." I gave him a quick rundown of how it operated before gesturing in the direction I'd come from. "I just came from that way, it should be somewhat safe. But just in case, take it." I said, handing him the SMG. "There's a factory a few block down the road, do you know the place?"

He nodded. "Y- Yeah, the SinoViet plant. My mom works there."

I gave him a reassuring smile. "Good, she might be there waiting for you." I said. "There's a bunch of soldiers keeping it safe until the transport leaves."

"M- Mom?" He asked, his eyes full of hope.

"Maybe." I said. "She's probably there, go to her."

"Y- Yeah!" He shouted. "Thank you, miss!" He said before running off.

I immediately keyed my commbead. "Amatson, there's a boy coming from our direction. Make sure he's covered." I said, receiving an affirmative hum before rejoining the other soldier.

We were only a block or two from the Tyrant, and resistance was stiff. I dodged left and right, ducking behind half-destroyed walls to avoid plasmafire often. I would leap out after a few seconds of waiting, after some of the enemy fire had shifted away, and kill the nearest enemy; whether it be by slug, bayonet, or sword, it didn't matter, they fell nonetheless.

On more than one occasion as we advanced, a 12.7mm round would pierce through a particularly problematic enemy's skull. I always thanked our little assassin once things cooled down for a bit.

Eventually, we reached the Tyrant, though I certainly wasn't unscathed. Knowing that my ally didn't have aura, I had on numerous occasions thrown myself in the way of a plasmabolt destined for him. Needless to say, my own aura did not appreciate my selflessness, and was hovering just slightly above 20%.

Thankfully, with the Covenant garrison being forced into close quarters, I was able to eliminate the vast majority without even taking a graze. Their leader, an Elite in golden armor, managed to score a heavy hit on me, causing my aura to flicker, but not break, before it died.

Moments later, the Tyrant was erupting in flames as we blew up the core, us making a beeline for the factory; plasma whizzing overhead from Banshees and igniting anything flammable in the vicinity.

Just as we were a block away from safety, an intense wave of heat washed over me, followed shortly by a force that flung me into a nearby building. I bounced off the concrete wall, feeling my aura shatter as I hit the ground.

Quickly regaining my wits, I looked over to the source of the force and saw a green inferno raging in the center of a crater that I was absolutely sure was not there a minute ago.

"Rose!" I heard the soldier say. "Get up! We're almost there!" He shouted as he started dragging me to my feet. I popped up, now realizing that we were only a single building away from the factory, and darted inside just behind him.

Just as the door shut behind me, Amatson dropped down from the roof and led us through the now-empty factory floor to our transport.

The moment I was aboard, I collapsed onto the floor, sighing as I keyed my commbead. "Summer here, I'm on my way to orbit with a transport full-o-civvies." I said feeling the craft lurch beneath me.

"Have them divert back to the _Spirit_ , we'll take you onboard then give them some cover on their way out."

"Copy." I weakly said before making my way to the cockpit and relaying Cutter's instructions.

Minutes later, I disembarked onto the _Spirit_. Taking one last look back, I smiled as I saw the boy gazing out the window at me. I gave him a two-fingered salute and a smile before turning for the bridge; the Captain would want to debrief me.

As I strode forward, I stumbled, a spike of pain jutting out from my thigh.

I ran my hand over the affected area, feeling an unnatural, metallic, bump that shot a sharp pain through my entire body when I disturbed it. My first instinct was to pull it out, but many huntsmen and huntresses had lost their lives by attempting to treat themselves in the field.

Upon coming to this realization, I concluded that the debriefing could wait; seeing a doctor would probably be more important.

On the way, every step caused a dull ache to shoot through my leg, the pain-dulling effects of adrenaline wearing off.

I walked into the nearest infirmary, where I gave the receptionist a sheepish smile, collapsed onto the floor and promptly passed out from aura exhaustion.

* * *

/-\ 487 Resplendent Notion; {Redacted} System /-\

* * *

I observed my charge while occupying her helmet. She was sat at her desk as usual, desperately trying to parse her Mother's notes on the machine she'd built.

I internally sighed at her persistence. 'When will she realize that her work is futile?' I asked myself. 'Both of her parents keyed its activation to their Reclaimers, and I have told her multiple times that she does not possess the ingenuity to _fix_ it.'

I was brought out of my ruminations when my charge sighed. "How long has this cycle lasted?" She asked.

"As of the finishing of this sentence, eighty-nine days, fourteen hours, twenty-one minutes, and exactly… zero seconds."

She blinked. "Already?" She asked.

"Affirmative, Lifeworker."

"Well," She said, standing up. "I believe it is time for me to retire for the cycle." She walked over to her stasis pod and laid down. "Wake me at the usual time."

"Farewell for now, Lifeworker."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah…" She said before slipping into stasis.

I hummed, knowing that the machine was now active and that she could no longer hear me. "…Perhaps it's best if you rest for longer…" I thought aloud. "Scans show this machine can function for thrice as long as the current hibernation cycle without maintenance, and I'm sure 007 Contrite Witness wouldn't mind if I borrowed a few of her Sentinels once every few decades…"

* * *

(A/N) This isn't anywhere near the last we'll see of Aurora, btw, but it will be the last time we see her _awake_ for quite a while. Just know that I have _plans_ for her.

Not all that much to say on this chapter other than how we got a lore dump at the beginning on how Anders has aura, so there's that…

Welp, onto the reviews!

 **Osterreicher97 said – "Hmmmm... some very interesting revelations for this AU. I like the chapter, and I can't wait to see how things turn out in the next several chapters."**

Thanks! Oddly enough, I didn't even think of this fic _as_ an AU until you mentioned it, but you're completely right. Hope this chapter didn't disappoint.

 **Shadow Walker of Fire said – "Nice chapter. HW2 is an awesome sequel to HW and one of the cute scenes is so inspirational that it would make you want say 'OORAH!'."**

Thanks! I'm guessing you're talking about Cutter's speech to Isabelle, in which case, you're completely correct.

 **Amidamaru said – "I realy hope that Ruby isn't Qrow's daughter, it's odd that Summer hasn't mentioned or spared to many thoughts toward Yang and Tay so it leands credence to the idea.**

 **\- those soldiers attacking what amounts to a very strange person/special asset seems idiotic, I mean really? Summer had no guard on her? no one spread the word not to fuck with the strangely dressed catwoman?**

 **\- what year is it on Earth? because the tech difference is insane between the two, I know the grimm are a constant problem however it seems jaring that while Remnant has some advanced tech the humans on Earth run lapes around them, or should, their weapons could use an upgrade or two**

 **\- concerning Tyria, meh why not? in for a penny in for pound, maybe they are all experiments by anicent humanity or something similar**

 **\- Summer seems relaxed here for a woman who has left behind her daughter**

 **\- chapter lengh is good and so is the grammar"**

Don't worry, she's Tai's daughter. I think the _idea_ of her being Qrow's is interesting, but, honestly, it might break Yang. Sure, _canon_ Yang could probably roll with it enough to recover, but _this_ Yang miiiight not. Concerning Summer's lack of thoughts towards her, that's just an error on my part. She does very much miss her.

Idiotic? Yes. Very much so. That's because those guys are idiots only meant to represent the UNSC's growing xenophobia, kinda like RT's Cardin is with racism. But she wasaccompanied by Anders, soooo she _did_ have a pseudo-guard.

Earth time, it's early February, 2531, aka, when Halo Wars 1 takes place. In _most_ places, UEG (United Earth Government) tech _does_ run laps around Remnant's, but there is a noticeable lack of mechashift weaponry within the UNSC. Also, while their gunpowder is weaker as a propellant than dust, it had the advantage of being able to function outside of Remnant's atmosphere.

That's probably what I would've done if I went with adding Guild Wars to this fic. But another reason I didn't is I'm _eventually_ planning on adding another IP already (definitely one, possibly two) though I'm not going to say what they are.

Yeah, again, my bad.

Thanks!

 **Dovah117 said – "kinda regret that i havent playe HW, so Summer is a Reclaimer, that will play a mayor in the history and with Anderson awakening her Aura it has give me this theory, the humans of both franchises can use Aura, but is weak, meaning that something in Remnant amplifies their Aura, or maybe there is something in their DNA of the Remnant native that make their aura more strong, well hope that we get our answers, also we will see johnson because he knows what a woman like, so maybe he knows what summer like.**

 **Forerunners aren't extinct. Numerous ones live on in the Galaxy next to the Milky way or inside the Milky Way."**

Funny enough, that's exactly what I went with. I'd already planned it out, but it's cool that someone managed to get it right. I know Johnson was on Harvest at _some_ point, but I don't know if he was _still_ there when the _Spirit_ was. That's just about the only canonical point where he _could_ be in the fic, so, no. He wont be joining us.

Yep, I know about them. Doesn't mean anyone else in-universe does, though.

 **Mid Level Fighter said – "As I said last time, love every bit of it. You will definitely want to finish the Forerunner Saga, as it will give you lots of ways to toy with things. My only question is where you came up with 487 for the Anscilla. Keep up the amazing writing, I look forward to each update."**

Yeah, I really _do_ need to finish them. Honestly, I just mashed the numpad and picked the first three numbers. Funnily enough, it contains Bungie's favorite number. And Thanks!

 **Sacke110 said – "This is so great.**

 **But why did she have to be a dumbass and do all that so they think she's hostile. Now they want her dead, unless cortana explained to them.**

 **Wait. Was that even cortana? Hell if i know."**

Nope, not Cortana. She's the _Spirit of Fire_ 's resident sassy, chocolate-loving AI, Serina. As for _why_ he did it? Well, you know the old joke about how Marines eat crayons? He obviously graduated to paint chips at an early age.

 **Spartastic 4 said – "Finally caught back up with everything... the transition from the DFAC to Summer's room was very sudden and do feel that some of the conversation that Summer and Anders had could have been put in this as well.**

 **Still debating about your portal of Cutter, since he's seen more as the Fatherly/Friendly Uncle type of figure. But it's understandable of why you're having him be the way he is.**

 **But people outside of Remnant have Aura... interesting... does it have to deal with Aurora at all? Or the Forerunners in general?"**

Probably. It was quite a while ago, so I don't remember what I was thinking at the time. Probably just wanted to get a chapter out.

I completely agree with that characterization of Cutter. The only reason why he's hostile to Summer at the beginning is because she's an unknown that literally popped out of nowhere. He just wants to make sure his crew (which he later says he sees as his family) is safe.

I see aura as a Human racial ability in this fic. So, no, it doesn't have anything to do with the Forerunners. Though, to throw a hint out there, remember what Anders said right at the beginning of this chapter about her DNA.

* * *

And that's it for this chapter! Hope you all enjoyed, and I'll see you in 'Skirmish of the Unbidden', the next chapter of this fic.

The next chapter won't take 2.5 months to get out. Honest.


	5. Skirmish of the Unbidden

(A/N) This is a hell of a lot later than I intended it to be… again…

Anyways, both this chapter and the next one are ones that I've been waiting to write for a _very_ long time. You'll see why in a bit.

Also, I went back and **changed Summer's ending in the last chapter, you might want to read it before continuing or else you will be confused.**

One more thing before we start, due to me being much busier than I thought I'd be after finals, I'm going to start alternating the fics. I.e., the next upload will be a chapter in the main fic, the following will be another chapter of this, and so on. That will continue until either this fic is done, or I miraculously get ahead for once.

* * *

Chapter Five – Skirmish of the Unbidden

/-\ Summer Rose; UNSC _Spirit of Fire_ /-\

* * *

My eyes blearily fluttered open, an incessant beeping coming from _somewhere_ nearby.

At this time, I noticed that I'd woken up beneath a pristine white ceiling. I briefly entertained the idea that I'd somehow woken up in some Atlesian hospital, but that thought was dashed when I remembered the events of the past…

'…Wait, how long have I been here?' I asked myself.

Despite a dull ache coming from my leg, I felt completely fine and I was able to sit up without any ill effects. I glanced around the room and, to my surprise, found Professor Anders passed out on a chair beside me, her hand barely gripping onto a datapad while dangling, lazily, off the side.

Seeing no clock in the room, I gently removed the device from her grasp, taking care not to wake her.

As I expected, I was met with a lock screen, but that still had the time displayed on the front. My eyebrow rose when I saw it was currently 7:02 AM the day after the OP I took part in.

Just then, I remembered my injury, and I instantly reached to feel my leg…

…Only to be met with nary a scratch.

"Damn." I said in appreciation. I made several motions with said leg, the only pain being from the ever-present ache. I likened it to having sore muscles after a particularly hard workout; nothing serious.

Realizing I was still holding onto her datapad, I quickly stowed it on a nearby end table. Just as I set it down, she started to stir.

"Hello there." I heard, causing me to jump slightly.

My gaze shot over to a corner of the room, where a familiar blue-clad figure 'stood', smirking, atop a holotank. "Serina! What was that for?"

"I detected you were awake, Missus Rose, and I wanted to inform both you and Professor Anders that Captain Cutter was en route."

I heard my friend yawn beside me. "Well, I suppose I should get up, then." She said. "When is he due to arrive?"

"Approximately ten minutes." She responded.

"Alright." Anders said before turning to me. "You gave us a bit of a scare, there. Just collapsing in the middle of the medbay."

I rubbed the back of my head. "Eh, it was mostly just aura exhaustion."

She raised an eyebrow. "And what about the sliver of pipe that was sticking out of your leg?" She blew a puff of air. " _That_ was fun to remove." She said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

I shrugged. "Eh, I've had worse."

"Yeah, and I had to patch you up _then_ , too." She gave a dark chuckle. "With the things you do, you should've been dead about fifty times over. But, then again, aura seems to be quite the gamechanger."

"Heh, tell me about it."

She sighed. "In any case, how're you feeling? The wound seemed to be healing up quite well last I checked."

"Leg's a little sore, but other than that, I'm good." I said, swinging my legs over the bed and hopping to my feet. She immediately moved to stop me, but I waved her off. "I can feel my aura already recharging. It wouldn't be doing that if I thought I was still actually wounded." I said, taking a few experimental steps. "Yeah. Just sore."

She glared for a moment before sighing. "If you say so…"

At this point, I noticed what I was wearing. "Hehe, any chance I could get my clothes back before the Captain arrives? The last time I was in a hospital gown, it didn't end particularly well…"

She tsked. "Thought you might say that." She gestured to a table at the foot of the bed where my clothes sat.

I gave her an appreciative smile, and she quickly stepped out to allow me to change. Once I'd finished, the Captain had arrived.

He entered the room, an unreadable expression on his face, along with my friend. "Missus Rose." He greeted.

"Captain." I nodded. "I'm guessing this is about my last mission?"

"Indeed." He said. "Particularly on why you thought it would be a good idea to give a military-grade firearm to a child."

I winced. "It gave him a better chance." I said. "Besides, he was only a year too young for firearms training, anyways."

"What do you mean? He was still very much a child."

I raised an eyebrow. "Uhh, yeah?" I said, confusedly. "Don't you teach your kids how shoot?"

"I don't know about Remnant, Summer," Anders started. "but in UEG Space, firearms are very much a restricted commodity. If someone wanted one, they'd have to wait until they were eighteen _and_ take a firearms proficiency class in order to purchase even a pistol; let alone an automatic weapon like you gave to that child." She explained. "Unless there is a reason why someone would _need_ a gun, they're locked up tight; usually in the hands of the UNSC, police, or militia."

"Huh, well that's weird." I commented. "Back home, only the crazies don't have a gun lying around _somewhere_ in their house, 'least outside the kingdoms." I shrugged. "But then again, we've got the Grimm, soooo…"

"And I'm guessing by your saying that 'He was only a year too young' means you train them early on." Cutter observed.

I nodded. "Yeah. Firearms training is mandatory in all Remnan schools at age eight. Nothing huntsman-grade, more like a seven-millimeter rifle, but hey, that'll smoke anything smaller than an Ursa if you hit it in the right spot."

Serina suddenly winked into existence. "And what of your weapon, hmm?" She asked. "Given you've said your entire job description is killing the 'Creatures of Grimm', as you call them, your weapon must be capable of much more than that of the average citizen."

I smirked. "Oh _definitely_." I said. "Though I don't really use my Chromatic Rose like a traditional firearm, per se." I laughed. "I'm partial to sticking it inside a hammer and using it for recoil."

"Well, that certainly explains why you chose a weapon that can tear a man's arm clean off if he one-hands it." Anders commented, causing me to give her an incredulous stare. "What? I got curious, okay?"

"You said you didn't have any ammo I could use." I said to the Captain.

Anders shrugged. "There are more practical applications to math than just figuring out how to rip the universe apart. I didn't actually _need_ any ammunition to calculate the recoil."

"…I'm not sure whether to be glad you didn't need ammo, or highly concerned that you're trying to rip the universe apart…"

"I meant Slipspace Travel…" She deadpanned.

"Oooohhhh…" I let out. "So wait, what were we talking about?"

"Your giving a military-grade submachinegun to a child." Cutter said. "While I'm still not happy about it, I can overlook it just this once due to the context you've given me. Just don't do something like that again."

I nodded.

"Now that _that's_ out of the way, your performance in the field, as well as your insistence on helping others, has somewhat gained my trust." He said. "Enough to where I think its time you got your weapon back."

I blinked. "But I don't have any ammo for it…"

"Correct, but my engineers tell me that whatever you use-"

"Dust." I supplied.

"-that _dust_ , is similar enough to gunpowder we only need to add a firing pin to make it compatible."

"I'm quite curious on how your weapon works without one, to be honest." Serina said.

I blinked, surprised that even our _guns_ used different technologies. "Well, when you press the trigger, a dust plate is shot forward. Basically, it imitates aura juuuust enough to allow any dust within the bullet to ignite. This means that you can use the gun without expending any aura of your own; handy for those with depleted or locked auras, too."

"I think that's a discussion best saved for later." Cutter said. "For now, we have a mission to plan. Follow me to the bridge." He said before striding out, both of us in tow.

Minutes later, we arrived, Cutter giving orders the moment we entered. "Serina, have you finished analyzing the anomaly in the Leinster Jungle?" As he finished, I noticed Forge leaning against the far wall.

She winked into existence atop a holotable. "Aye Captain, it appears to be a deployable energy dome. Unfortunately, our sensors are completely unable to penetrate it." The table changed to show a large dome in the middle of the jungle, several enemy contacts buzzing around it.

"Whatever they're doing under there, they don't want us knowing about it." Forge observed, striding over to Anders's side.

"I don't like that one bit." Cutter said. "Can we use the ship's cannons to take it out directly?"

Anders tisked. "Probably, but I wouldn't be surprised if we destroyed everything under there in the process." She hummed. "Covenant energy shields are susceptible to super-heated plasma; aren't we field-testing some plasma-based Rhinos?"

Serina nodded. " _Pillar of Autumn_ 's inventory shows they have some prototypes…"

Just then, an enemy phased through the shield with a ripple. "Wait, what if we're going about this all wrong?" I asked, gaining their attention. "Sometimes going at something head-on isn't the best idea. Their airships have been going in and out of that thing as they please."

Forge hummed thoughtfully. "Covvie anti-vehicle shields let infantry go right through 'em…"

"We wouldn't be able to support anyone on the ground while that thing was still up." Cutter said.

"And the shield would likely block any outgoing radio transmissions." Anders said.

"What about a small group?" I asked. "I'm a veteran huntress, I'm used to working with a couple of _very_ skilled people."

"You would probably be overwhelmed when you made contact." He said. "…Unless we made a diversionary attack on the front." He paused. "Serina, status of Spartan Red Team?"

"Green across the board, Captain."

"Anyone specialized in infiltration ops, by chance?"

"Unfortunately not, though Spartan-130 is known for her fondness of breaking things."

"Noted." He said before turning back to the map for a few moments. "Tell Red Team to gear up; 092 and 042 go for heavy assault, 130 should pack light." He ordered. "Oh, and get someone on converting Summer's weapon. I want it done yesterday."

"Aye sir. Orders sent."

"Anders, how many Rhinos would we need to take down the shield?"

"Hard to say, Captain. I'll likely need to be down there to get the power settings right."

"Make it happen. Serina, any suitable LZs between thirty and fifty kilometers out?"

"Only one." She said, expanding the map to show said area. "A farmstead that went dark a few days before the invasion thirty-one clicks out; all other LZs have no viable path to the AO within a reasonable amount of time."

"Well, that certainly narrows down our choices…" He muttered under his breath before turning to me. "As soon as your weapon is ready, I want you and 130 on a Pelican bound for that farmstead. From there, you two will take a Mongoose through the jungle until you're five clicks out. An hour after you've landed, we'll start the diversion, at which point, you will start the infiltration. Clear?"

I nodded. "Crystal."

"Good. Forge, you and the rest of Red Team will take Anders down to this area," He pointed to a cliff overlooking the dome. "30 minutes after they depart and set up a base. Make as much noise as possible, we want the Covenant's attention on _you_ instead of _them_."

"Count on it." He said. "Hell, we might as well _actually_ try to break through, too. It'll make it even more convincing."

"Agreed. But don't start offensive operations until I give the signal." He paused, thinking over the details. "Dismissed."

* * *

An hour later and I sat in a Pelican opposite the armored and stoic giant of a soldier. I had made several attempts to talk with her, but every interaction was met with a blank stare from her gold-plated visor.

Thus, I'd given up completely on chatting with my new teammate. Briefly, my thoughts wandered to my home, but I shook them away; I could not afford to lose focus now. Instead, I inspected my weapon for the fourth time on this flight alone.

It wasn't _exactly_ the same as I'd remembered it, unfortunately. The engineers told me it would take too long to manufacture custom ammunition, so they instead shortened a spare barrel from an M45 shotgun and mounted it to my weapon, downgrading the ammunition from 4-gauge to 8-gauge.

On the bright side, the smaller shell size allowed me to fit an additional shell per clip, bringing it to 6 from the original 5. Knowing that ammunition proved to be a major problem during my last engagement on Remnant, I also added a pouch to my leg specifically to carry more.

Around my other leg sat a holster for what they called an 'M6S'; a silenced pistol they insisted I carry due to my primary weapon not exactly being a _stealthy_ weapon.

I was roused from my introspection when the pilot announced we were two minutes out, and before I knew it, we'd touched down.

Spartan-130 and I sprinted out of the craft, weapons in hand, ready to meet any opposition.

All we found were deserted buildings. While they were quite obviously abandoned, it wasn't long enough ago for the structures to start collapsing on their own.

Yet they were.

I blinked, still scanning the area as the Pelican dropped our Mongoose.

The dirt-trodden paths that ran throughout the settlement were still easily visible; a field in the background grew corn in organized rows, obviously planted by a farmer; machinery was parked outside the shed, free from rust.

This place had been abandoned, sure, but it was recently. My paranoia grew exponentially when I noticed several large clawmarks raked across the main house.

As if sensing my unease, 130 spoke up. "This world is mostly uncharted, it could have been any number of animals. Keep your head on a swivel."

"Yeah… An animal…" I said, trying to convince myself that it was, in fact, not the work of the Grimm.

It didn't help that I'd seen many villages in the same state as this one, having arrived too late to save them.

That thought crept through the back of my mind for the entire drive to the Covenant shield. Darting through the surprisingly smooth jungle terrain, we made good progress; arriving at the staging area only 45 minutes after we'd landed.

From there, we hid our vehicle and silently waited for the signal.

Right on schedule, a single bolt of blue plasma shot from the cliffside and struck the purple dome, causing it to ripple.

Moments later, dozens of Covenant aircraft erupted from their base, all bound for the cliff. Our radios picked up panicked cries from the UNSC base as torrents of tracer rounds streaked towards their targets, downing several fliers. My teammate nodded to me before signaling to advance.

We quickly stalked towards the dome, staying beneath any and all cover we found. This mission was already bringing up bad memories of the Immortal War back home, particularly of hunting down a Grimm Cult in Anima, though instead of my team's resident Bad Luck Charm being at my side, it was this stoic soldier.

I pushed my reminiscence to the back of my mind, focusing on the mission, as we came to the actual dome itself.

Ironically enough, the Covenant hadn't been smart enough to clear out a section around their dome; either that, or they hadn't had the time.

I strode up to the barrier, glancing back at 130, before gently poking it.

A small ripple propagated from the point of contact like I'd just poked the surface of a lake. I blinked, registering a faint tingle where I'd touched the dome. Deciding it wasn't harmful, I gradually passed my arm through the membrane.

Eventually, I was fully through.

Just as the other side was unguarded, so was this one; not a single alien stood before me. Seeing that the coast was clear, I stuck my arm back through the dome and motioned 130 through.

We set off moments later, still extremely cautious as we ghosted through the jungle; ducking low to avoid the occasional Banshee or Vampire.

After a few minutes, we reached the lip of a valley situated above a Covenant base and, on the other side, a massive walker undergoing construction in some ruins.

Just as we were about to start formulating a plan, the shield flickered for a moment, exposing some clear sky, before reestablishing itself.

Refocusing my attention on the base, I came to one conclusion. "Yeah, there's no way we'd win against an entire base…" I deadpanned.

"Agreed." 130 said.

"What can you tell me about that walker over there?" I said, indicating the ruins. "Think they've got something back there worth destroying?"

She nodded. "Definitely. The Covenant do not deploy Scarabs lightly, and it appears to be in a highly defensible position."

"You can say that again, think we'd be able to hold out 'til they got to us?"

"Likely." She said.

I nodded. "Alright, how do you wanna do this?"

Her helmet laser-focused on the 'Scarab', as she called it, looking for any weaknesses. "Their only defenses are pointed forward." She observed.

I smirked. "Hit 'em from the rear, then? I can get _behind_ that idea!" I joked.

Her golden visor swiveled to meet my own gaze, staring deeply and unsettlingly, before refocusing on the target. "Let's move." She said, popping up to a standing position.

"Sheesh, ya couldda just said you didn't like puns…" I muttered, following her lead.

We continued throughout the jungle, circling around our prey, silent and shrouded under the canopy. There were surprisingly few patrols to deal with, in fact, there were _none_.

All throughout our march, my sixth sense was going haywire.

Shadows seemed to move on their own; trees rustled as if a large animal was moving through them; a pair of red dots would occasionally shine from far away, only to wink out of existence moments later.

It would seem that I wasn't the only one who noticed these things, as 130's head, and her M7S, swiveled to meet whatever noises presented themselves.

Then came the _whimpering_.

It was still far off, but a faint, masculine, whimper resounded throughout the jungle. It was directly ahead.

130 heard it too, and was even more alert than she'd already been.

As we neared, blue and purple blood began to coat the trees, though no bodies were found. The only other indication that something had been here were the deep drag marks through the soil.

"Elite." 130 whispered. "Whatever killed the Covenant here dragged their leader away." I nodded, nervously rechecking that my shotgun had a clip loaded.

We followed the drag marks and, eventually, reached what I assumed to be the source of the whimpering. It was an Elite, now dead and missing several limbs.

"Pathetic creatures, wouldn't you say?" An unsettlingly familiar voice said.

I immediately recoiled, pointing my shotgun at the noise and firing a shot.

"Tsk, now is that any way to greet someone, little rose?" The voice mocked as its owner stepped out of the shadows.

My heart sank. "…What?" I let out. "How…?"

Before me, the Grimm-man stood, a wicked smirk plastered on its face as it casually strode forward. "It matters not." It said. "Her Grace demands your life, and she shall have it."

My eyes narrowed as I dropped into a combat stance, materializing a shield in my off-hand.

* * *

/-\ Hostile Contact; Remnant - Forever Fall Forest /-\

* * *

I growled as I fought to break free of my stone prison. 'Damned Silver-Eyes…' I ruefully thought as I managed to tear my arm free, using it to peel away the rest of my tiny cell. Once I was free, I gazed towards the fool that had imprisoned me…

…only to see her limp body floating into a portal of some kind.

My eyes widened when I remembered Salem's last words to me; 'Return with her head, and I shall grant you your final form'. In the heat of the moment, I bolted at the portal, running on all fours.

I dove through just as it slid shut, trapping me in a painful, silver void. In the distance, I saw my quarry as she floated aimlessly, blinding white streaks emanating from her eyes.

I clawed at everything I could, but it was futile, and we drifted further and further away. Moments after we entered, a flash overtook every other pinprick of light around me, and the air seemingly changed.

Where before the air in the Forever Fall Forest was chilly and dry, this air was warm and moist; like the jungles of Anima.

I blinked away the light and found myself under the canopy of a tropical jungle.

My brow furrowed in confusion. 'What? I was in Forever Fall before, how in Her name did I end up in _Anima_ of all places?' I mentally asked myself.

Suddenly, my Beowolf's hearing picked up a voice. _"I think it was over here._ "

At this point, I noticed how drained I was. A good meal would replenish me energy, but, after the Silver-Eyed _whore_ and her _spawn_ hit me with their powers, I was too weak to take on a fully-fledged huntsman.

Thus, I promptly scurried up a tree, awaiting to see what prey fate brought my way this day.

Minutes later, and a pair of men walked beneath my tree. I could sense their trepidation, but they lacked true fear. I rolled my eyes at the sight of them being completely unarmed; I never liked killing idiots like them, those that would venture into Grimm territory without arming themselves.

They were always dreadfully boring to kill, one slice and it's over. Sure, most fights were like that, but at least if they were _armed,_ they would put up a fight.

As it was, I stood above them, observing their useless banter about a bright light appearing in their backyard.

Deciding to make an elaborate entrance, I plucked a stick off the tree I was in and threw it near them. Naturally, when it hit the ground, they turned towards it.

I silently scurried down the tree while the idiots were busy pondering the great secrets of the stick. Moments later, they were still oblivious to the alpha predator that now stood directly behind them.

"Good evening, gentlemen!" I boomed, startling them.

They whipped around and immediately _froze_ , practically oozing with pure, delicious, _terror_.

I grinned, showing off my _very_ pointed teeth. "Would either of you happen to know where we currently are? I happen to be quite lost."

They were still absolutely _petrified_ , filling my belly with their negativity.

I traced a single claw along the face of the leftmost one, drawing a thin, red line. "You do know how rude it is to not help a lost traveler, don't you?"

"A- A- Ar- c- cadia!" He stuttered out. "Y- You're on Arcadia!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Never heard of it." I said before digging my claw in deeper. "Making up names will get you nowhere."

They were completely silent, still quivering.

I tisked. "Very well, then." I said before slicing open my victim's throat. I looked to the other one, who was somehow even more terrified than before. I smirked. "Well, what're you waiting for? Run." I said.

He didn't need to be told twice and bolted. I easily kept up with him as he ran into a small home on a farmstead. I grinned, sensing the fear of several other inhabitants.

Dinner is served.

* * *

I smirked as my quarry and the armored soldier dropped into combat stances. Just as I was about to mirror them, her companion spoke up. "Who and _what_ are you?"

"Ah, haven't heard of me, I see." I commented. "I am Samuel Fredrich Mire; humble servant of our Goddess, Salem." I grinned. "As for _what_ I am, little soldier, I am the union of Human and Grimm; man and monster; life and death. But most importantly, I am our Goddess's will made **REALITY!** " At my declaration, I shot towards the soldier, my claws outstretched for her vulnerable neck…

…and hit nothing but air.

I instinctively ducked and kicked upwards, deflecting a stab from my opponent. Knowing not to stay in one position too long, I lunged for the soldier, avoiding a round from Summer's weapon in the process, but again met nothing but air.

I threw up a barrier in the direction of the green blur that I assumed was the soldier, absorbing dozens of small-caliber rounds, and turned towards my quarry…

…only to have my head bashed with her shield.

I rolled with the strike, using my backwards momentum to kick upwards, and managed to strike her in the jaw. We both recoiled, and I just managed to duck under a lunge by the soldier.

We were back to square one, having exchanged a hit for a hit and still facing off.

"130, go take care of the Scarab." Summer said.

"You aren't in charge of this OP." Came her response.

"Listen, we don't have much time until-" Just then, the purple dome that had been above us fell, several earth-shattering impacts following briefly afterwards. "-they get here…" She sighed, her eyes never leaving me. "You know they're gonna run straight into that thing, it'll be a slaughter."

The soldier, now one-three-zero, seemed to ponder it for a moment before nodding and taking off in the other direction.

I smirked. "That wasn't very smart, little rose…" I said, condescendingly. "You know you lost the first time."

She growled. " _The first time_ I had my _daughter_ in my arms, you monster!"

"Indeed, you did. A shame I missed out on the two-for-one deal." I nonchalantly brushed off my shoulder. "Silver-Eyed Warriors are quite rare nowadays."

"Only because you _made_ us that way!" She shouted, shooting forward with a wordless battlecry.

She went for what seemed like a telegraphed attack with her shield, winding it up for a strike to my throat. However, the movement in her torso, and the alignment of her gun, suggested otherwise. Rather than try to evade her strike, I met it head on with my shoulder, throwing her off-balance.

Her eyes widened, and she was forced to fire at a sub-optimal angle to regain her footing; the shot missing completely.

Suddenly, rose petals exploded from her form, obscuring her _just_ long enough to throw off the clawstrike I'd thrown.

As I recovered, still getting my bearings, I felt a sharp pain lance through my foot. Looking down, I saw that it'd been impaled with a white spike.

I growled, leaping out of the petal cloud and ripping out the offending object in the process. As I looked down, searching for her, I saw that she'd effectively mined the entire clouded area with spikes. Moments later, the cloud dispersed, its petals flowing back into Summer.

I knew she was fight-smart from our previous battle, but she hadn't displayed _this_ before. Aura's inability to protect my Grimm-skin was really starting to sting. As I landed, I threw the spike back at her, though she merely dissolved and absorbed it.

We both shot forward once more, exchanging blow-for-blow. Most strikes were either dodged or parried, but _some_ managed to get through.

Minutes later, and I could tell her aura was on its last legs. I wasn't much better, my aura fully depleted, leaving my few Human features exposed, and my right arm leaking Grimmgore from a nasty strike by her now-bladed shield.

Suddenly, an alien dropship flew above us. Moments later, her eyes widened. "What do you mean, 'you lost Anders'?!" She shouted, rolling away from my kick.

She retaliated with a shot that grazed my Grimm forearm, partially disabling the limb. I growled and, capitalizing on a moment of her distraction, lunged in and sank my teeth into _her_ arm.

She screamed the loudest I've ever heard and started flailing on me with all her might. She managed to get in a lucky shot to my throat, allowing her to escape, her aura flickering but not _quite_ shattering.

Just then, she leaped up…

…and landed on another alien dropship.

I howled at her escaping form, looking for any method of pursuit. Fortunately, another one passed overhead, and I leaped atop it before tearing my way into one of the troop bays.

I smirked at the aliens' horrified shrieks and gazes. "Evening, Gentlemen!" I started. "I heard you like to kill people, well, that's _my_ thing." I smirked. "And I _don't_ appreciate competition."

Another feast couldn't hurt, now could it?

* * *

(A/N) That was certainly a thing. I do believe this is the first time I've actually written something from a villain's PoV (I don't count Resplendent Notion), hopefully I did alright.

Speaking of 'alright', writing that particular character from his PoV certainly was not. Not to say I didn't like writing a villain for once, its more that I, apparently, don't like getting in the headspace of _true_ psychos like Mister Mire.

For those wondering, he's loosely inspired by Freddie Krueger. By loosely, I mean _really_ loosely, as anyone who knows who Freddie is would know. Then again, RWBY is probably just as loosely based on their own fairy tales.

Anyways, that's enough about that for now. On to the reviews!

 **Guest 001 said "What does "SF" mean!? Is Summer's Silver Eyes what allows her to instinctively understand Forerunner!?"**

"SF" is military slang for "Special Forces". Well, yes, and no. Its complicated.

 **Osterreicher97 said "A good chapter as always with your stories. It's awesome that Summer's presence is already making a difference, and the on the ground scenes really elaborate on the fact that civilians and militias on worlds attacked by the Covenant suffered the most. The games at times glossed over the rather brutal campaigns performed by the Covenant. Also, if I had to guess with the whole DNA deal, it sounds like a reference to the whole genetic manipulation and coding done by the Forerunners such as the Librarian. If Summer is somehow able to read Forerunner, then her awakening Anders aura must have boosted the specific coding that she possesses as a Reclaimer.**

 **Lastly, ummm... are we seeing yet another treacherous Monitor taking his directives and coding a bit too seriously as well as therefore omitting information from those who need it (just because it would go 'against it's coding'."**

Thanks! And yeah. Come to think of it, Reach is the only Halo game that actually features militia. And even then, it's just for one mission.

Partially correct on the DNA guess, but that's all I'm gonna say.

Resplendent technically isn't a monitor, but Aurora certainly didn't want to go to sleep for the amount of time she's going to be 'under'.

 **Shadow Walker of Fire said "Great chapter. Will this story continue onto Halo Wars 2?"**

Nope. I don't have anything against the game, but the plot I have picked out only lasts until after the Spirit wakes from cryosleep. Also, I haven't ever played HW2.

 **Red October700 said "So this was a good chapter. Glad to see Cutter easing up. For some reason I can see a growing question mark coming from her head when Anders brought up DNA. Metal Gear anyone?**

 **Nice to see her motherly side come in during the fight. That was a nice touch of her finding the boy and rescuing him.**

 **Reading some of your responces I would like to through a couple cents in. Mainly the xenophobia.**

 **As the reader we see that Summer is on our side just with a few gifts. Sweet loving person. But if you look at it both as the way you stated and in what all is going on in the Haloverse, you can see why some of the marines might view her with hostility. A human with cat ears would raise eyebrows on a normal day, during a war with alians that want your entire spices eradicated? Can you see what I am pointing at? Of corse they should not judge a bood by its cover and I hope that is somthing you are planning on. Kind of a prove you can be trusted type of mind set.**

 **again good chapter. see you next time...or in one of your other books...one of the two. till then fly fast and check 6."**

With the xenophobia thing, yeah. That's exactly what I'm getting at. Cutter, though, is smart enough to know that he does only have ONE ship, and if a super-powered catgirl pops out of nowhere, he'll at least give her a chance to prove her intentions. Up until this point, the only aggression coming from Summer was provoked by his men, and she responded with non-lethal force. So that's a plus.

* * *

So that's it for this chapter! I did _technically_ make good on my promise that it'd not take 2.5 months…

…but just under 2 months is still _faaaaaaar_ too long of a wait between chapters. Hopefully I can get that down to where I want it, and you guys'll be able to read "Isolation" (the next chapter) before July.

Anyways, see ya next time!


	6. Isolation

(A/N) …This is horrendously late, again.

I really wish I could just slap on my usual excuse of 'I was busy' and call it a day, but the chapter actually killed my will to write for a while. I'm back at it now (obviously) but that's the actual reason why it's so late. I just couldn't get this chapter to a place I was happy with and eventually just took a break from writing altogether.

Anyways, enough author's notes, on with the chapter!

* * *

A Summer's Harvest

Chapter Six - Isolation

* * *

/-\ James Cutter /-\

UNSC _Spirit of Fire_ – Bridge

* * *

" _Spirit of Fire_ , this is Forge… I lost Anders." I heard over comms, the man on the other end sounding quite angry.

"What do you mean, 'you lost Anders'?!" Summer shouted in response.

"Some massive Elite came outta nowhere." He said.

Suddenly, a deafening scream emanated from Summer's line, but was short-lived.

"Missus Rose, are you-" Serina started, but was cut off.

"Fucker bit me!" She shouted through what sounded like high winds. "I'm goin' after Anders!"

"Sir," Serina interjected. "both her and Anders's signatures are heading away from the planet!"

"Forge, get up here on the double!" I shouted.

"Already en route, sir." He said.

"Shit! I'm losing sight of her!" Summer shouted.

"What are you even _doing_?" Forge asked.

"Hopped onto one of their airships, but it looks like we're going different ways!" She exhaled loudly. "Shit, air's gettin' pretty thin. I'll contact you when it's safe, Summer out."

"Damnit…" I sighed, waiting for the ground team to arrive. Minutes later, Forge, Spartan-092, and Spartan-130 walked in.

"We're all accounted for, why haven't we left yet?" Forge asked, clutching the wound on his chest.

I glanced at him. "Why aren't you in the medbay, sergeant?"

"Their signals have gone to lightspeed; headed for the border." Serina informed.

"That puts them outside weapons range." 092 said.

" _What_?" Forge said, glaring at him. "We _have_ to go after them!"

"Sir, I can only track their transponders a few more seconds…" Serina said.

"Captain!"

"Sir, Anders represents a significant security breach." 092 said.

While they'd been shouting at me, I had been mulling over my options. 1) Inform the higher-ups, or 2) chase after them and hope to get them back before any information leaked into Covenant hands.

Needless to say… "Serina, get us underway immediately, follow those signals!" …I threw out the first one.

The other occupants of the bridge nodded and began to leave, save for 130. As Serina acknowledged my orders and gave a snarky remark about 'leaving a note', 130 approached me. "Sir, I believe I made first contact with one of Missus Rose's 'Creatures of Grimm'."

I raised an eyebrow. "And how, exactly, did that happen, Spartan?"

"As we proceeded through the jungle, I repeatedly got return pings from my motion sensor." She started. "Eventually, we came upon a Covenant patrol, all KIA by what looked like claw wounds. We kept advancing and found an Elite, presumably their leader, dead on the ground; cut up by…" She trailed off. "It's easier to show you." She said, retrieving a datachip from her helmet and plugging it into the holotable.

The screen flared to life, displaying what could only trulybe described as a _monster_. It was seemingly once Human, but now it was a twisted, _corrupted_ hybrid between a Human and what appeared to be a black-furred werewolf.

Serina hummed. "Well, this is certainly an… _interesting_ creature…" She paused. "Analyzing the footage, it seems our friend from Remnant is no stranger to religious fanatics."

I raised an eyebrow, causing her to snap her fingers. The picture on the holotank was replaced by a video of the _thing_ talking.

"… **he union between Human and Grimm; man and monster; life and death. But most importantly, I am our Goddess's will made REALITY!" It shouted before leaping forward.**

I paused in thought. "130, I want you and your team going over this footage and coming up with any and all countermeasures. Serina, save a copy for when we get the professor back."

They nodded, the Spartan leaving the room with her datachip. I sighed. "Why couldn't it just be innies?" I mumbled to myself before resuming my duties.

* * *

/-\ Summer Rose /-\

Alien Vessel

* * *

I clung to the ceiling of the dropship as it pulled into its birthing; half-a-dozen or so Grunts laying dead on the floor.

Soon enough, the bay door opened, causing some of the bodies to spill out onto a raised platform of some kind. Several nearby aliens screeched in surprise, but I didn't move a muscle. Instead, I clung to the ceiling as they passed beneath me, searching every nook and cranny for their comrades' assailant…

…but they never looked up.

This was something that even _Humans_ had trouble with. Only those who had been ambushed like that before knew to think in three dimensions. Apparently, they had never suffered that fate, as janitorial teams filtered in seemingly without a care in the world, mopping up the blue blood and the odd severed head.

After what felt like hours, the aliens finally left the area. I quietly dropped down into the still-open troop bay and peeked out into the enemy capital ship. It was bustling with activity; Elites barking orders while Grunts and Jackals moved things throughout the hold. There were several guards, mostly Jackals, but they seemed bored out of their minds; all of them either sleeping or not paying any attention whatsoever.

Thankfully, the workers were all too engrossed in their own tasks to notice me quietly duck behind a wall of large purple crates. In-between the gaps, I spotted a mostly transparent shield door; likely the one that the alien dropship passed through.

On the other side of the shield, however, was something… _magical_. Multitudes of colors _danced_ throughout the void, often grouping together to form long streams of light, or, in some cases, _walls_ of it.

The structures themselves never changed shape, but the colors that made them up always did; cycling between silver, red, green, and yellow seemingly at random. All of this enveloped in a light blueish mist; wisps of the stuff licking the sides of the ship as we sailed onwards.

Reluctantly, I tore myself away from the spectacle that was before me; I'd ask Anders about it when I got us off this ship.

I quickly scanned my surroundings and, within three seconds, found a loose floor panel. Removing it revealed a small crawlspace beneath the main hangar deck; a crawlspace I could use thanks to my… _compact_ size. I smirked, diving into the hole and crawling off, replacing the panel behind me.

Though it wasn't spacious by any means, I was still able to crawl around with relative ease. I'd have to pause every once in a while, allowing an alien patrol above me to move along.

I had no information. I had no backup. I had no supplies. And to top it all off, I was in _space_ , so I couldn't even jump ship if things went sideways. In other words, I had to play this smart or I was _boned_. No 'if's 'and's or 'but's.

Keeping that in mind, I moved silently throughout the crawlspaces beneath the deck, exploring the vessel. Occasionally, I'd come across something that let me peer into a room from where I was hidden; a vent, a crack, a panel removed for maintenance.

At some point during my search, I realized just how stupid and impulsive this whole thing was; even _when_ I found her, what then? Lock ourselves in a broom closet and vent the ship? Two people couldn't exactly pilot an entire _starcruiser_ ; or at least I didn't think so. And what if we landed on a planet filled with Space Grimm, or something? I couldn't protect her forever.

At some point, I came across what I thought to be the ship's name, though it was an odd one. " _Proclamation's Tithe.._." I whispered. The name itself was written in what Anders called 'Forerunner script', though there were many symbols surrounding it I couldn't read.

I sighed almost audibly, continuing my search…

* * *

/-\ Ellen Anders /-\

Covenant Ship _Purity of Retribution_

* * *

I glared at my captor, a Grunt, as it lowered the shield to give me a meal of some kind; though the green… _sludge_ inside the bowl the alien was handling was hardly appetizing.

It set my meal down on the floor, giving it a gentle nudge towards me, before scurrying back outside and reactivating the barrier.

I internally smiled at the Grunt's reaction; it knew I could handle myself. That train of thought caused me to frown, however. 'If I _could_ handle myself, I wouldn't be in this situation…' I mused.

I brought myself out of my ruminations and promptly noticed that my captor was staring at me, unblinking. I gave it another death glare, causing it to hide once more.

I sighed, wondering how I would get out of here, before taking out my research journal once more and continuing to translate the runes inscribed on the walls of my cell.

At least the bastards left me something to _do_ while I waited for my death…

* * *

/-\ Summer Rose /-\

Alien Vessel _Proclamation's Tithe_

* * *

I internally groaned after finding yet another empty brig. 'Except the dead Grunt in the corner…' I noted.

Over what felt like several weeks, I'd searched relentlessly for any signs of my friend. Evading the enemy was difficult at first, but over time, there seemed to be less and less patrols throughout the halls…

…and more bodies.

At first, I was alarmed. But I soon realized that if whatever was killing the covvies was after _me_ too, then I'd've found it by now. Eventually, I just chalked it up to a virus or something.

It was hard to gauge the exact length of the ship I was on, but more Forerunner text revealed it to be a destroyer of some sort. I huffed; this thing was probably an order of magnitude larger than any destroyer Remnant has ever made…

I sighed as I crawled into my makeshift basecamp; a particularly roomy space behind some interior paneling. I stood up, stretching my legs, and took in the sight of my shitty little 'house'.

In one corner stood my supplies; a few jugs of stolen water atop a crate of equally stolen 'food', though that term is used _very_ loosely. In reality, it was just green goop that vaguely tasted like _pork_ of all things. In the only other corner sat a collection of blankets, also stolen, that I'd turned into a makeshift bed.

I picked up a cup of the green goop and started absentmindedly poking at it, letting my mind wander…

* * *

Years ago

* * *

I stood at my friend's door, just having knocked, and waited for him to answer. Qrow stood at my side, equally apprehensive. After what seemed like an eternity, the door opened, revealing the tired, scraggly blonde we were looking for.

He sighed before wordlessly moving aside and gesturing us inside, out of the rain. Moments later, we were all sat in the livingroom of his apartment in Vale; his and Raven's.

"…Anything…?" He asked, finally.

I shook my head. "Its like she just disappeared off the face of Remnant…"

"Our old pals over in Mistral don't know anything, either." Qrow said, referencing the tribe. "'Least the ones I can find."

Tai's fist pounded on the coffee table. "How could she _do_ that?! I thought she'd changed!" He shouted, moments before his child in the next room started wailing. His anger faded instantly, morphing into sorrow. "I thought she loved us…" He said, barely above a whisper, but otherwise not moving a muscle.

After a few awkward moments, he sluggishly began to get up, mustering the will to tend to his daughter.

I stood up, putting my hand on his shoulder. "You're exhausted, Tai." I said. "Let me deal with her."

He tried to protest for a minute, but before any words came out, he just sighed and slunk back into the couch, muttering a soft "Thanks…" in the process.

I nodded and softly strode into her room, scooping up the crying infant, barely 6 months old. I cradled her, singing a soft lullaby. Minutes later, she'd quieted down, and, without looking, I thought she'd fallen back asleep.

"da… da…" I heard a tiny voice say.

I blinked, looking down at the child in my arms. "…What?" I asked, incredulously.

"…dada…"

"You want to see your dad?" I surmised.

"Dada."

I gave her a smile. "Okay." I said, before taking her back into the main room, where Qrow had just poured Tai a drink. "Hey, Tai?" I said, causing him to look up at me. "Someone wants to see you."

He tiredly looked at me for a moment before his eyes glanced down at- "Yang?" he asked, receiving a nod. "She… she wants-"

"Dada."

He froze, a mix of emotions washing over him, before eventually settling on _joy_. I gave him the girl, and instantly they hit it off. He played with her, she'd giggle, say "Dada" occasionally, and they would just be… _happy_.

After a few minutes, it became obvious that he wasn't leaving her any time soon. I turned to Qrow, who had an uncertain look in his eyes. "C'mon," I said. "let's let them have their father-daughter time. We'll check on them in the morning." He nodded, and we let ourselves out.

* * *

Present day

* * *

A solitary tear rolled down my cheek as the memory finished. 'What am I doing here?' I asked myself. 'I should be back with my daughters. I can't leave them; I can't be like _Raven_.'

I slid down the wall and buried my face in my knees. Anders wasn't on this ship. My daughters weren't on this ship. There weren't even any _Humans_ on this ship.

I was alone.

Forgetting about my situation, I sent an aura-infused punch into the wall, visibly denting it and making quite a bit of noise.

I wanted nothing more than to just…go home. I was sick of all this shit; whether it be Half-Grimm attacking my family or fucking aliens slaughtering millions of people.

Suddenly, the panel hiding my little camp was ripped from the wall, revealing an unsettlingly familiar face. "Found you, _little rose_." The Grimm-man sneered as it lunged towards me.

* * *

/-\ Ellen Anders /-\

Alien Dyson Sphere; Interior

* * *

My eyes blearily opened as I heard something massive approach, the thumping of its footfalls accompanied by the sizzling of an energy sword.

"Restraints off!" It shouted, causing the machine holding me to collapse and dumping me onto the floor.

I tried to scramble to my feet, but I wasn't quick enough. Instead, a massive hand clenched my neck and hoisted me up to the silver-clad Elite's eye-level.

"Your judgement has waited long enough." It said, giving a low growl.

I struggled against its grip, but it was _far_ too strong for me to escape on my own. Thankfully, it provided a solution to this problem by throwing me to the ground in front of the holographic Forerunner ball.

Time slowed to a crawl as I realized _why_ they'd kept me alive; they wanted me to activate something on this planet for use in the war.

I turned back to my captor, who was slowly reaching for my arm; all but confirming my theory. I looked around frantically for any escape option, only to find none…

…save for the edge of the platform.

Time sped back up and I felt absolutely _exhausted_ , but I _had_ to escape. Naturally, I did the only thing I could think of and rolled off the edge. Both the silver-armored Elite and its guards tried to stop me, but their arms fell inches short of my form as I cleared the platform.

I hard a furious roar as I descended but paid it no mind. Instead, I was focused on the blob of ancient constructs zooming towards me; that, and the aura sparks licking my limbs.

Moments later, I was cradled _within_ said blob; the drones shielding me from whatever lay outside. **"Anomaly retrieved,"** They spoke in unison. **"transport to nearest laboratory for study."**

"What?! _Study?!_ " I shouted, immediately thinking these tin cans wanted to dissect me. I thrashed about wildly, trying _anything_ to escape. Eventually, the flying robots restrained all my limbs, but still I resisted. Soon, whatever passed for an AI overseer among the drones decided I'd given them enough trouble and released a green-ish gas into the belly of the formation.

I was out cold within moments.

* * *

My eyes blearily fluttered open. To my pleasant surprise, I was _not_ currently being eviscerated on some table like a particularly unlucky frog in biology class; instead suspended in a thick blue-ish fluid.

Looking a bit further, I saw that I was in some sort of tank; various consoles laying, unused, in the room beyond. My sense of wonder was compounded when I realized I was not only _not_ wearing a mask, but that I was _breathing_ this fluid.

No tubes ran from any of my extremities to the tank, I was a bog-standard Human that was currently breathing _liquid_! Not only that, but I didn't feel the need to breathe as often as I would with air. I certainly had no idea _why_ I could breathe this stuff, but I was certain that I needed a sample of it.

Soon, however, my curiosity turned to worry. 'Where am I? Where are the scientists that were to study me?' I asked myself. I quickly decided that I didn't want to wait around for answers to come to me; meaning I'd have to break out of this tank, somehow.

An oaf like Forge would've just banged his fists against the glass until it gave way, but I had neither the strength nor the pain tolerance to do that. Also, it didn't help that the fluid slowed my movements due to its syrup-like viscosity.

Instead, I closely examined every inch of the tank; specifically, the top. After a moment of feeling around, I found a lever of some kind. I didn't know _why_ I should pull it; just that somethingwas _compelling_ me to do so. A loud **-HISS-** resounded throughout the tank as I pulled the lever, slightly muffled by the fluid. Moments later, a portion of the lid suddenly dematerialized; revealing an exit.

The new orifice was small, just barely large enough for me to squeeze through, but that didn't stop me. I dragged myself from the tank, the moment my head peaked above the fluid, the substance that was trapped inside my lungs started to come out.

Violently.

It was all I could do to keep my head above water as I was racked with the worst coughing fit I'd ever had in my life; spurts of blue fluid escaping my lips with every cough. After what felt like hours, I finally sucked in a breath of fresh _air_ ; it being the first in quite a while if I were to guess.

I laid my head atop the tank, my legs still suspended in the fluid, as I caught my breath. I don't know how long it took, but eventually, I recovered and dragged myself fully from the tank.

The ceiling in the room was tall enough for me to stand atop the tank, getting a better overview of the room than I'd been permitted from inside it. To the side stood a conveniently placed hardlight ramp leading down to the floor, one which I took.

The substance felt… _weird_ on my bare feet; almost like I was walking on grass growing directly atop cement. Another strange thing that I just noticed was that I wasn't wet in any fashion whatsoever; none of the fluid had stuck to me like water would after exiting the shower. I made a mental note of both phenomena as I strode towards my clothes, which were conveniently hovering above a blue light at least superficially similar to the cell I'd been kept in for a couple days beforehand.

My smile dropped slightly as I realized they hadn't been washed, meaning I'd be putting on clothing that still had some Arcadian muck on it. I shrugged, at least its better than being functionally naked for god knows how long. Minutes later and I'd donned everything I'd come in here with, just in time for the screen of a nearby console to light up.

I approached, wary of the archaeotech that had brought me here, yet excited to learn from said ancient technology. I was in the process of paging through my newly recovered notes for my letter translator when all the glyphs suddenly shifted to English characters. I blinked, the words they formed initially not making any sense, before the letters themselves shifted again, this time to recognizable English words.

Just as suddenly as the letters shifted, the machine emitted a wide orange beam which quickly scanned over my features. When it finished, the computer displayed new text.

 **Identity confirmed; Reclaimer Ellen Anders of the Cognoscenti Antiquorum rate. Geas confirmed; unlocking coordinates of Installation 02.**

Before I even realized what I was doing, I found myself staring at a blank page on my journal. As I was wondering just _what_ was going on, a blue light began etching lines into said page, a very faint trail of smoke trailing from where the beam traveled. I couldn't make out what _exactly_ the coordinates were at a glance, but an hour or two in my lab could fix that.

 **Flood infestation critical; facility destruction required. Unlocking instructions for stellar override.**

As before, I'd flipped to another blank page without realizing; the blue laser making precision etchings of the required steps to carry out my task. I didn't know what the _Flood_ was that the terminal was referring to, but for some reason, I felt compelled to agree; to _trust_ the archaeotech.

Only after a moment's hesitation did I remember that the Covenant on this world wanted me to activate something back on that platform. 'The Flood must be a weapon of some kind, then…' I reasoned. 'Right, grab my sample and get to the override…' I thought.

 **Capture of Installation 02's location** _ **unacceptable**_ **. Initiating laboratory self-destruct sequence.**

My eyes widened, barely pausing for a moment before grabbing the nearest container, an odd jar of some kind, and sprinting over to the tank. I quickly collected my sample and ran out of the room as quickly as I could, one of the walls having opened while my back was turned.

Though the lab was seemingly a maze _explicitly_ designed to confuse people, a series of helpful green lights guided me towards the exit. Just as I ran through the main entrance, I heard a loud explosion behind me and quickly ducked behind a sturdy-looking boulder.

Just as I got into cover, flames erupted from the maw of the facility, scorching the rockface but not harming even a hair on my head. I breathed a sigh of relief once the inferno passed, finally allowing myself to catch my breath.

Eventually, I stood up and examined my surroundings. I was in a sparsely-wooded coniferous forest, still on the interior of the Dyson Sphere. I stared at the shell that loomed on every horizon, saddened that I would need to blow it up.

Just as I'd finished moping about the destruction of such a galactic wonder, I spied a purple dot in the distance rapidly approaching my position. Squinting at said dot, I quickly realized that it was a Covenant destroyer; one that was going down.

I stared in muted horror as the ship got closer and closer, knowing I would never be able to outrun it. Thankfully, it seemed that it would _just_ miss my position when it eventually crashed.

Oddly enough, I could've sworn I could see two figures -one white and one black- fighting atop the destroyer's hull. The vessel slammed into the ground about a mile away, skidding across the surface and uprooting trees as left and right.

Before the ship even stopped, the two figures leapt away, seemingly teleporting from treetop to treetop. They kept battling all the while, one would lunge at the other and usually miss. After a few minutes, however, the white blur managed to land a solid hit on the black one, sending it my way. The figure skidded into the ground, bouncing once before rebounding into a standing position, giving me a good look at it for the first time.

I immediately paled. 'What the _**fuck**_ is that thing?!' I internally screamed. In front of me stood a grotesque hybrid of a Human and a… _werewolf_.

As if sensing my panic, the monster turned towards me and grinned, black blood oozing from where it was missing teeth. "Ah, a good _meal_ to heal my- GRK!" It was interrupted by the white figure promptly kicking it in the face out of nowhere.

"Don't even think about it, _Grimm_." The figure spat out before jumping back into the fray.

" _Summer_?!" I shouted in surprise as she landed a hit on the… _thing_ 's arm with her sword, drawing more blood. She didn't answer me, but her semblance and signature cloak were more than enough to confirm her identity.

The Grimm deftly dodged another of Summer's strikes, quickly retaliating with a kick to the leg. She then used the momentum she'd gained by falling to roll away, flinging her shield at it in retaliation. The moment the weapon left her grip, more rose petals sprouted into existence, forming a curved sword of some kind.

The monster deflected her improvised projectile with ease, but Summer immediately blurred into motion; both swords swinging. The short one never stopped moving, always arcing towards any perceived weak point, while her normal-length sword was busy fending off any and all clawstrikes by her opponent.

Once again, the two combatants were mono-colored blurs to my eyes; both fighters moving far too fast to track. At some point, Summer seems to have made a mistake of some kind, as the creature grappled her arm while the other clutched her longer sword.

It let a feral grin crawl onto its face as it squeezed both its hands, causing my friend to let out a horrific scream. Seeing her in pain finally brought me out of my stupor, and I did the first thing I thought of…

…I rushed in and suckerpunched the monster.

It reeled from the strike _just_ long enough for Summer to escape, still holding her cracked sword, but the shorter one lay at the creature's feet. I cradled my now-broken hand, letting out a yelp of pain. I refocused on the fight, only to be met with a clawed foot impacting my sternum.

I flew backwards, tumbling end-over-end as the sounds of battle resumed. I tried to get up after I finally stopped rolling, but my ribs heavily protested the action. I gasped in pain, which _also_ hurt, and collapsed back onto the ground.

I refocused on the battle, still clutching my chest as if it would do anything to assuage the pain. Just as I looked up, I heard a loud **-BANG-** reverberate through the forest; a gunshot. Five more followed, each one causing Summer's blade to accelerate to ludicrous speeds; as if it wasn't a blur already.

For four of those shots, the monster was able to dodge or parry the strikes, but the fifth one connected and, moments later, a black and lupine arm lay on the forest floor, black vapors already wafting off it.

* * *

/-\ Summer Rose /-\

* * *

I smirked as its arm fell to the ground, but I didn't stop my assault for even a _second_ ; even that amount of time could give my opponent an edge.

I'd switched to a longsword instead of my classic arming sword and kopesh; the latter embedded in the ground somewhere after I'd dropped it. Stopping to reload Chromatic Rose would require slightly disassembling my primary weapon; an action which I couldn't afford even in my enemy's weakened state.

My blade arced from above, aiming for its head, but it raised a claw to parry it. I quickly kicked my right elbow out, turning an overhead strike into a decapitating one. Unfortunately, my opponent reacted in time, ducking just below the strike as it threw a wild kick to take my exposed left leg out from under me. I, on the other hand, _didn't_ adjust in time and was sent to the floor. On the way down, however, I struck my blade into the grass; sending dirt into its face and allowing me to roll back to my feet.

It cleared the debris faster than I expected, and while I was setting up for my next attack, it managed to nick me with its claws; straining my already thin aura even more. Its attack left us both somewhat out of position, but my opponent's was worse than mine. I threw my right hand into a pseudouppercut, but maintained the grip on my sword. Moments later, my weapon's pommel sailed into the monster's eye, gauging it out in a spray of Grimmgore.

It growled, managing to get a good swipe in a split-second later and throwing me back. I bounced off a nearby tree, landing on me feet as my aura shattered. I needed to end this _quickly_. I spared a glance at my friend, who was busy propping herself up on a tree, before charging in once more; hoping I could overwhelm the Grimm man's weakened defenses with a flurry of blows.

My sword scythed through the air, my exhausted and desperate onslaught _barely_ slipped by its defenses and carved a meaty chunk out of its stump; an inconclusive strike, but it _did_ cause a slight wince. Before I could exploit said wince, I was thrown back by a powerful roundhouse.

This time, however, I was not _allowed_ to get up, as its remaining mandible closed around my neck and hoisted me off my feet. I kicked and clawed, punched and flailed, all in a desperate attempt to get free. A single tear traced its way down my face as the world started to go dark; my thoughts lingering on my family.

Just as I was about to pass out, I was suddenly released, a monstrous shriek following shortly after. I blinked away the darkness and, to my surprise, found _Anders_ hanging off the creature's back; my kopesh buried in its shoulder.

I wasted no time in retrieving my longsword and, just as the Grimm man managed to shake her off, an upward swing connected with its neck, finally ending this fight as its head rolled to the floor.

I sighed in relief as its features began to evaporate, scattering in the gentle breeze that I only now noticed. Said relief was only momentary, though, as I remembered my friend that lay unmoving on the ground.

I sprinted over to her, sliding the last few feet. Her eyes lazily drifted open, revealing them to be completely unfocused as she took a shaky breath. "S- Summer?" She weakly asked.

"Yeah, I'm here." I said, giving her my full attention.

"J- Jour-nal." She slurred, her right hand slowly reaching towards one of her pockets. I quickly stopped her, however, by holding her arm still.

"You've got a boxer's fracture." I noted as I rummaged around in the pocket she reached for, eventually producing her journal.

"Page…" She paused. "170." She said before pointing to a nearby boulder. "Fluid. Ancient fluid." I raised an eyebrow, causing her to gently push me towards where she wanted me to go. I relented, however, and retrieved a jar of blue liquid from behind the rock. She looked visibly relieved when I got back, but passed out a moment later.

I checked her vitals, but everything was fine. At first, I thought the concussion was worse than I suspected, but an aura spark dancing across her chest put aside that worry; it was merely aura exhaustion from her trying to heal her wounds.

As I was about to drag her into the shade, my Faunus ears picked up the now-familiar hum of Spirit dropships closing in on us. I immediately went into action, gently dragging my friend out of sight while dispelling the now-discarded kopesh in an attempt to gain _some_ aura back.

The moment I set her down, I began the reload process for my shotgun, still embedded in my longsword. I opened the hilt, producing a loud **-PING-** and inserted another clip, the bolt sliding forward with an audible **-click-**. A moment later, the miniature cloud of rose petals condensed back into the hilt.

I'd regained a bit of aura from my kopesh, probably about ten percent, but it was nowhere _near_ enough to sustain me in a lengthy fight. I'd have to be smart about this. With that in mind, I took off my cloak and placed it in a tree away from my friend's unconscious form, its tips gently fluttering in the slight breeze.

I ducked into yet another tree just as a trio of Spirits approached our small clearing. Just as their troop bays opened, revealing hordes of Covenant infantry, the dropships were suddenly racked with explosions. Moments later, a quartet of fighters screamed overhead, my eyes just barely able to make out a blurry UNSC logo on the underside of their wings.

Blue flames engulfed the dropships as they plummeted to the ground, the form of an Elite staggered from the wrecks; desperately trying to put itself out before collapsing, succumbing to the inferno.

I checked the sky once more and found several squadrons of Longswords entwined in a dogfight with twice their number of Banshees; the latter only downing a Human starfighter for every three of their own lost.

A lone Pelican dove through the battle, dodging left and right through plasmafire all the while, its rear-mounted turret blazed away at any pursuers. Several Banshees slid into position on its tail, but were quickly scythed through by a combination of the dropship's rear gunner and a pair of UNSC fighters that lent their assistance.

Moments later, the box-with-wings set down in our clearing, just opposite the still-burning Spirit dropships that crashed earlier. As the ramp dropped, the first man out was, naturally, Sergeant Forge, his shotgun sweeping from side-to-side as he scanned the area.

I let out a sigh of relief and gently dropped from the canopy. His weapon snapped to where I'd landed, but lowered as soon as he recognized me. "Where's Anders?" He asked.

"Over there." I said, pointing towards the tree where I'd left her. "Do you have a stretcher in that thing? She's wounded."

His eyes narrowed. "And you just _left_ her?!"

I raised my hands up in mock surrender. "Hey, I had _those_ fuckers to worry about, remember?" I thrust a thumb towards the Covenant dropships to my right. "I _sure_ as hell didn't want her getting hurt any more than she already was."

He sighed. "Good point, I'll go get the stretcher." He says before ducking back into the Pelican.

My Faunus ears flicked just as his foot hit the metal ramp, hearing a similar **-thump-** from behind me. I moved _just_ in time to dodge the strike of an energy sword; its wielder decloaking a moment later. It was a _monster_ of an Elite wearing silver armor, a blade in each arm.

"So, _you're_ the White Witch I've heard so much about." It remarked **.** Its eyes trailed up to the top of my head. "A unique Human, then? No matter; the hierarches have decreed-" **-BANG-**

Its eyes snapped open wide, but the damage was already done…

…its head rolled onto the floor, my sword just having passed through it.

"Talking isn't a free action, asshole." I growled. "And it's the _White Rose of Veridia_!" I shouted, giving its body a quick kick before checking on Forge, who just emerged from the Pelican.

His eyes flicked to the body behind me. "…Do I want to know?"

I shrugged. "Asshole tried to talk me to death. Guess his ego really went to his _head_ , eh?"

He stared at me blankly for a moment before a slight grin started to pull at his lips. He desperately tried to keep it off his face, but was ultimately unsuccessful, instead turning away. "Let's just get Anders…" He said.

I agreed, and we picked her up; returning to the _Spirit of Fire_ without incident after retrieving both my and Anders's belongings.

* * *

(A/N) I know that slipspace is completely devoid of visible light in canon.; that moment on the destroyer will be explained later.

That's really the only thing that _needed_ addressing, so... onto the reviews!

 **Spartastic 4 said – "It was actually interesting to see what you did from the villains' perspective, though it was a bit weird in the beginning. Hopefully you'll have the next chapter soon.**

 **But I do wonder when the Lifeworker will have her influence be shown."**

I thought I'd try something new; glad it mostly worked out. She'll be coming in soon; there's only two or three more chapters in this entire fic left.

 **Josh Kennedy said – "I thought aura didn't work in space."**

Nope, that's _dust_ that doesn't work in space.

 **Shadow Walker of Fire said – "Great chapter. Since this story isn't going to go to HW2, will it meet up with your other story 'Ruby-B312'? Because it's either that or the Spirit shows up over a desert planet and ends up helping Liam Neeson, or meets up with the Pillar of Autumn many years later."**

It'll end up joining with Ruby-B312. The first alternative took me a bit to get, but now I really want to see the Spirit over Tatooine, though that won't happen in this story.

 **Osterreicher97 said – "So the hybrid followed her through as well... I wonder what other pov's will think of this example of Grimm and that may just be more solid proof if no one believed her before. Also, I would add onto what others have said and theorize based on what I've seen from Haloverse lore that the higher ranked officers of the UNSC seem to be more receptive to those who are different. I suppose it comes from interacting with the Spartans more often than the common soldier does (Spartans are not known for being 'normal' in how they socialize), and they probably learned at some point in their career about how to distance themselves from emotional based reactions and instead rely on more logic driven reactions in situations.**

 **In a situation like the timeline for Halo Wars, it's only reasonable that even Captain Cutter would be wary until given some sort indication that something isn't a threat considering the he holds much responsibility for one succeeding in the mission and two making sure that the Spirit of Fire and everyone associated makes it through as much as possible.**

 **I hope that the Grimm bite isn't too bad or infectious. It would be a real shame if so, but I suppose it would add another element of Summer facing challenges and attempting to make it through. Also, you got the slave-like and psychotic tendencies of Salem's little pets down to a T. I always thought that the background for a lot of her little slaves and their reasoning for joining her was pretty shallow. Granted, some of them like Hazel actually had grief against body snatcher Ozpin, but Hazel's sisters' death was explained as being an accident as I recall. He just refused to accept the truth and decided that he would basically contribute to the very cause that ran counter to his own sisters' chosen cause.**

 **I like the play on Krueger by the way. It is actually true I think that a lot of the characters and their stories are supposed to mirror fairy tales some are subtle while others are fairly obvious name, style, or situation wise. Also, don't be too worried about the timing, it's all good. Take what time that you need to make sure that the story continues to flow well. Thanks again, for this chapter. It made my day.**

Hope their basic reaction of 'what the ever-living _hell_ is that _thing?!_ ' was realistic enough; and that Cutter would order his Spartans to have countermeasures in place for if they met again. Sure, they weren't necessary, but _he_ didn't know that.

Exactly my thoughts.

Her aura just _barely_ held after that bite, so she didn't actually get any venom injected into her bloodstream or anything. Salem doesn't strike me as being above indoctrination and/or emotional manipulation. In fact, that's probably what she's doing to Tyrian summed up in a single sentence. I actually feel bad for the little psycho, now.

Glad you're enjoying it! Hope this chapter had the same effect!

* * *

And that's it for this chapter! See you next… _sometime_ in 'Wanderlust and Wonders Lost'.


	7. Gold

(A/N) This story isn't abandoned; it was just missing in action…

In all seriousness, I wasn't in the best headspace over the past… holy shit, it's been _four months_?! I guess that's what happens when "I'm tired, I'll write tomorrow." gets repeated too many times. I'm better now, but I just didn't feel like doing anything at all, really.

Anyways, happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy both the turkey and this chapter!

* * *

Chapter Seven

Gold

* * *

/-\ Summer Rose /-\

* * *

"She's gonna be fine." I heard as I sat in the ship's infirmary, arms nervously hugging my waist.

I barely spared a glance towards Forge, who'd been in here with me since the moment we touched down. "She'd better be…" I muttered, ears laying flat. Truth be told, she wasn't the only person on my mind, though I wouldn't tell him about that. I still obviously cared about my friend, but the doctors here had healed _me;_ I knew she'd be up-n-at-em in no time. What _really_ was eating at me was my family; the ones back on Remnant.

The ones I'd left behind.

"Summer?" A new voice asked. Looking up, I saw a hologram of Serina smiling sweetly. "The Captain has requested your presence on the bridge." She glanced at my companion. "Yours too, Sergeant." I sighed, giving a nod as we started towards our new destination.

While it _was_ only a short walk from the hangar-adjacent infirmary to the bridge, my lingering thoughts made every step feel like a thousand miles. An irrational part of me hoped that one of my daughters would suddenly poof onto the ship; preferably in better condition than I'd been in about a month ago. I shuddered at the thought of my children being put in _that_ state.

Before I could wallow anymore, the elevator opened, revealing our ever-stoic Captain. "Rose, Forge." He greeted, nodding. "Good to have you back. Anything to report?"

Knowing he was onlyaddressing me, I spoke up. "Anders found more than I did, and I'd like to know when she wakes up. Other than that, the hybrid is dead."

Forge crossed his arms. "Didn't see a body. You _sure_ about that?"

I blinked, momentarily confused by their lack of knowledge. "…Right, not from Remnant…" I muttered. "The Grimm evaporate upon death. Nobody knows how and nobody knows why."

"Sounds like something those spooks at ONI would use." He said. "I still want a body after seeing 130's footage of it, but if it's gone, it's gone."

"Speaking of the recording," Serina cut in. "your opponent mentioned someone he claimed to be a quote-unquote 'goddess'." I flinched. "Care to elaborate?"

Shit.

Cutter raised an eyebrow at my silence.

Fuck.

"Missus Rose." He said, expectantly.

I tiredly dragged my hands down my face. "Ozpin's gonna kill me…" I muttered. "Do you have somewhere a bit more private?" I asked, noticing the half-dozen bridge crew around us.

He nodded, leading me to his quarters. "Serina, this conversation stays off the books." He said as the door closed behind us.

"Aye, sir. Would you like me to step out as well?"

"That won't be necessary." He said, clasping his hands behind his back. "So," He said, addressing me. "I'm guessing this 'Salem' person is a problem back home."

"She's the queen of the Grimm." I admitted. "And she's been terrorizing us since before recorded history. She's thereason why we're limited to our four kingdoms instead of the entire _world_." I sighed. "Whenever things start to go well, the Grimm get… _smarter_ ; more coordinated. Rare breeds come out of the woodwork and traitors cripple our defenses from within."

"And you're sure it's not a dynasty of Grimm Queens?" Serina asked. "Because something tells me that her actions have been going on for much longer than any Human should live."

"We don't know much about her," I admitted. "but the one thing we _do_ know is that she's a Grimm herself. The head of my organization even believes she was the _first_ Grimm hybrid. She doesn't _have_ a natural lifespan; not anymore."

Cutter hummed in thought. "This is a bigger issue than I thought, isn't it?" I nodded. "Very well, I'll have to do with the abridged version. For now, we're still stuck possibly hundreds of lightyears away from Earth against a Covenant force that outnumbers us more than three to one. Any intelligence you gathered while you were on that ship would be _very_ much appreciated."

" _I_ didn't find much…" I started before pulling out my friend's journal. "but apparently Anders _did_." I flipped to page 170; the one that adorned a highly detailed drawing of an exploding star in the top right corner.

The Captain squinted at the page. "Can you make sense of this, Serina?"

"Not from here, no." A small wall panel slid open, revealing a blue screen. "But if you press it to my scanner, that may change." I did so without further prompting and, after a moment of thought, she hummed. "It would seem that this is an instruction set for this facility's self-destruct mechanism. A nuke or, funnily enough, an overloaded slipspace drive would be all that is required to destroy this entire world."

His brow furled. "We don't _have_ any nukes and sacrificing our drive would mean we're stuck here until help arrives."

I blinked. "Wait, is that the thing that makes you go faster-than-light?"

"Technically no, but in practice, yes." Serina said.

"…Would that crashed Covenant starcruiser have one?"

They stood silent for _just_ long enough to make me think I'd made an idiotic comment. "Yes…" Cutter said, a smirk pulling at his lips. "Yes, they would. Serina, could we use _theirs_ instead?"

"For destruction or escape? You know they've always been faster, sir."

"Indeed, they have. Any chance we can mount their drive on the _Spirit_?"

"I wish I could give you an answer, but I don't know if their drive survived the crash. And even if it did, it may be inaccessible. Although, someone with a handheld scanner couldgive us the answers we're looking for." She hummed, shooting me a wry smile. "Preferably someone with knowledge of the ship's layout."

I chuckled nervously. "Caaaan I at least rest up a bit? My aura's more like wet tissue paper right now..."

Cutter hummed. "Serina, get me Jerome."

A few moments passed before a new voice sounded throughout the room. "Spartan-092 here, sir."

"How soon can Red Team be ready? CQC loadout."

"Fifteen minutes at most, Captain."

"Do it. Serina'll brief you." The man on the other end gave a short 'yes sir' before Cutter turned to me. "You've got fifteen minutes. Grab something from the canteen if you need it, but otherwise there'll be a Pelican waiting in bay seventeen. Dismissed."

I _really_ wanted to protest his decision, but a fierce glare warned me off. Upon realizing I only had _fifteen minutes_ , I sprinted for my new destination. I'd be damned if I did this on an empty stomach.

* * *

I popped the last of my fish sticks into my mouth, the dropship rocking back and forth as it soared through the air. I did, of course, grab more than just food as we prepared, though I couldn't grab _much_ else. Tossing the empty MRE bag into a nearby garbage, I began loading my newly acquired en block clips with 8-guage rounds from the can at my feet.

The Spartans, as always, were silent; at least to Human ears. My Faunus ones picked up near silent voices coming from their helmets; quiet enough to not know what they were saying, but still loud enough to know they _were_ talking. I don't know what I expected; the Spartans always seemed standoffish to anyone outside their little trio.

"Ten seconds." The pilot announced over the intercom. I quickly slotted a clip into my weapon, the others doing the same. "Looks like nobody's home." He said as the dropship gently touched down; the ramp dropping to reveal a small clearing in the forest.

The four of us filed out onto the grass, our Pelican taking off after we'd disembarked, and finally got a look at our destination. "Huh…" I let out. "Looks a _lot_ worse than I thought it would." In front of us _was_ the starcruiser… but it much more resembled a chunk of flaming purple metal than an actual, recognizable ship.

My eyes scanned over the debris, looking for anything large enough for a man to fit through. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like we were lucky enough for one to be easily accessible. Just when I thought I'd have to lead them to the top of the ship, where the Grimm Man and I escaped, a large, blue explosion bloomed from the other side of the ship; shaking the ground below us slightly.

"Are we _sure_ this is a good idea?" I asked.

"You were the one who suggested it, Summer." Serina reminded. "Besides, my scans indicate there are now twenty-two-point-five percent less explosives aboard the vessel."

"Not helping…" I muttered as we continued through the debris field. I noticed a panel had been dislodged by the explosion; just large enough for a Spartan to fit through. I looked back at my comrades, who all nodded. Sighing, I ventured into the new crawlspace, my small form having more than enough room to maneuver.

After less than a minute of navigating through the maintenance tunnels, we popped out into a hallway illuminated only by the wayward sparks of various exposed conduits. The Spartans tuned on their flashlights, but I had my Faunus eyes to compensate.

We climbed through the broken corridor; stepping over bodies, skirting around fallen girders, even descending an entire deck after discovering the path we were taking had completely fallen into the one below. It was eerie leading them through the ship; it had become a desolate _maze_ after I'd left, in no way resembling what it had been even _yesterday_.

As we were getting nearer to what I thought was their drive core, I threw up a fist; signaling a halt. My ears flicked, hearing something that sounded like a- "Voice." I whispered, my ears swiveling as I struggled to pinpoint its location. Its species, however, was clear. "Elite."

I led them towards the source of the voice, the Spartans being surprisingly silent for people wearing half-ton armor. Eventually, we found ourselves in a crawlspace _just_ wide enough for a Spartan and I to traverse. It led to a large, mostly empty room; the only defining feature being some sort of… _thing._

It defied any sort of categorization as wisps of blackish-purple energies danced inside a transparent dome. It almost reminded me of the Summer Maiden's magical experiments; Auria was always eccentric, after all. I shook my head, bringing myself back to the present…

…And the Elites within.

Though I'd never seen their armor configuration before, they were obviously a cut above the rank-and-file Elites that I'd been fighting so far. Fully enclosed, visorless helmets on a sleekly designed silver suit, each with an energy sword at their hip.

"Spec-Ops." 092 whispered next to me. "The Captain said to keep you out of harm's way as much as possible. Stay in reserve, but don't intervene unless one of us tells you to."

I wanted to object, but a quick mental check of my aura revealed it was less than twenty-five percent recovered. I sighed, knowing that I just couldn't take any hits right now. "Fine." I whispered. "I'll at least keep watch while you get into position, though."

He nodded. "Let us know if any more show themselves. Six will be hard enough without any surprises."

I hummed in acknowledgement before they took off, disappearing like phantoms in the mist. I then turned my gaze back to the Elites, who were still going about their business inside the room, unaware of the predators that now stalked them.

They spoke in a soft voice, or at least as soft as their guttural tongue can get, telling me they _somewhat_ had let their guard down. " **Nishum drokaaba reh ey? Teedah'eh cheensay…"** One said, though I had no idea _what_ it was actually saying.

Another Elite poked its head up from the crate it was working inside. " **Wah ennah? Jeenehyuhkoh?"**

The others barked in laughter as the first one to speak stammered in apparent embarrassment. While they were busy laughing at the Elite's expense, the Spartans moved into position. They moved slowly and deliberately; each step inching them ever closer to the distracted aliens.

Just as they seemingly entered position, a door on the far side of the room opened. "Another Elite." I whispered into comms. "Red armor; looks important."

"Copy; anyone have eyes-on?"

"Confirmed; Zealot." 130 said.

092 paused for a moment. "Delta Rho four niner."

"Wilco." The other two responded, silently stalking to new locations. Meanwhile, the laughing Elites had immediately ceased as their red-armored comrade entered the room. It began barking orders moments later; the others starting to work even faster.

They all formed a circle around the room's only feature, ripping at the floor panels and undoing what I presumed to be fasteners of some kind. "Do you think they're wrecking it?" I asked over comms.

"Negative," 130 said. "they would be using their plasma swords if they were. In position."

"Same here." 042 said.

"Roger, on my mark." 092 ordered. "Three, two, one, engage!"

The moment the last word left 092's mouth, the entire team burst into action. The red-armored Zealot fell to the ground, a half-ton supersoldier pinning it, while two silver-armored Spec-Ops Elites suddenly ate magnums courtesy of the others. I drew my Chromatic Rose, ready to leap in if things went south, but they seemed to be doing fine. As 092 wrestled with his foe, the other two turned on the other Elites in the room. 130 sent a powerful kick into the falling body of her target, catapulting it into one of its comrades as her partner peppered another with dual SMGs.

The Elite's shields flared but held long enough for it to get into cover. With 042's attention on a single target, the remaining two unengaged aliens set their sights upon him, and soon, a torrent of plasma washed over his position. He twisted out of the way, returning fire until his guns ran dry. The moment he stopped firing, the three charged him.

He chucked one of his empty weapons at the nearly unshielded Elite faster than I could see. Said Elite screamed in agony as it clawed at the gun now embedded in one of its eyeholes. Its comrades only roared as they charged the Spartan even faster than before, their plasma rifles still blasting. A few bolts grazed his arm as he began returning fire with his now-reloaded weapon, slightly melting his armor.

130's Elite finally extracted itself from under the body of its comrade, but it was too late, as the Spartan roughly shanked the alien in its jugular. It fell to the ground, clutching its neck as it bled out. 130 immediately moved to help 042, but the dying Elite crawled towards the center console.

My eyes widened as it pulled itself up and began frantically hitting buttons while bleeding all over the controls. The screen flashed red just as I lined up a shot and pulled the trigger, sending it to the ground one final time.

The machine at the center of the room shook wildly, the energies inside destabilizing before my eyes. The wisps of blackish purple energy merged together, slowly opening a portal. As it widened, I started to see that… _magical_ realm I saw during my first time aboard this ship. Suddenly, it all clicked. That was _slipspace_ I saw.

That Elite made the drive _drag us in_.

My eyes widened in horror at the realization and I charged forward, evading both plasmafire and conventional bullets as I rushed to the control console. I wiped off the screen, leaving thin but bloody streaks all over the place, but at least I could actually _see_ what I was doing now.

I sighed in relief when I realized I could read the characters. The relief was short-lived, however, as in my effort to wipe off the screen, I'd made the situation _even worse_.

Warnings flashed in my face, the console screaming about an 'uncontrolled slipspace event'. I gasped; even a planet-bound person like myselfcould figure out that was _bad_. I did the only thing I thought could even _remotely_ help…

…repeatedly hammering the button labeled 'emergency stop'.

A ripple formed in the corner of my eye. Looking towards it, I noticed that the entire _room_ had started to shimmer with the blackish-purple slipspace energy, the occasional portal opening for a split second to reveal slipspace itself.

Shit.

Suddenly, a wisp of slipspace energy reached out to me, snagging my hand. I screamed as my aura flared at the unfamiliar energy, my hand burning as if dipped in molten iron. I flared my semblance, trying _anything_ I could to get the energy off me, but that only made it worse. It started to climb up my arm, taking the immolating feeling with it.

I tried to pull away, but that, again, had no effect. It just kept spreading, the tendrils of pain scurrying up my shoulder and onto my head. I whimpered in pain as it reached for my eye, just wanting the pain to stop.

The moment it made contact, a tidal wave of pressure appeared behind my eyes. I knew what this was, having used it a few times before. Having _something_ else to try, I activated my powers, silver light bursting forth from my eyes.

The pain instantly _stopped_ , replaced by a feeling of… _awareness_. My physical eyes were blinded by the light, but I could _feel_ in their place.

The Elites around me all lay dead, the Spartans all rushing towards me in slow motion.

I could… _feel_ slipspace and realspace; at least the portions in my immediate vicinity. I then realized that we weren't even _in_ realspace anymore, the extra dimensions feeling like sandpaper grating on the walls protecting us from slipspace. Several colorful clouds of stardust accumulated all around me; one, the brightest, being at the center of an opaque wall of dust. Several other, smaller clumps formed as well, ships, I realized. I focused on the one clump that was alone; the lightest ship, as well.

The _Spirit of Fire_.

Looking deeper, I found several areas that had less dust than other parts of the ship. A cargo bay was just a portal away.

As if reading my thoughts, one appeared. Just as suddenly as the feeling of _awareness_ came, it left, leaving me feeling drained. "Fucking argilass…" I muttered as I collapsed to the floor, unconsciousness taking me a moment later.

* * *

/-\ James Cutter /-\

* * *

"Uhh… Sir?" Serina addressed. "You… might want to take a look at this…" She said, bringing up a camera feed on one of the bridge monitors.

I blinked at the sight of one of the hangar bays. "What the hell…?" I muttered, unable to keep my surprise hidden. "Serina, what am I looking at?"

"It… appears that the recon team has acquired a grudge against the Pelican pilots and decided to put them out of a job by using the destroyer's own slipspace drive to teleport said drive into the aft hangar bay." She smirked. "Well, at least we know it works."

"Indeed, we do." I sighed. "Send in an engineering team, I want the plan underway ASAP."

"Aye, sir, teams dispatched. Reading four UNSC ID tags from inside. Everyone's present and accounted for, though no one seems to be conscious considering they haven't hailed us yet."

"Very well. Add a medical and a security team as well, then."

"Better safe than sorry." She agreed.

"I just hope we can integrate the damn thing. Any idea on where Earth is, yet?"

She shook her head. "Still working on that. I've got the distance we've traveled, but I'm still piecing together the actual stellography. The answer is just shy of twenty-thousand light years, by the way."

My jaw dropped. "Did you say… twenty _thousand_?"

She solemnly nodded. "Indeed, sir."

"But that would take us-"

"Just under twenty-one years to travel under ideal conditions." She paused. "And we knowthings are never ideal."

I shook my head. "We better hope the damn covvie drive works…"

"Aye sir. That we should…"

* * *

/-\ Summer Rose /-\

* * *

My eyes snapped open, the purple corridors of the Covenant starcruiser all around me. I blinked, confused at my presence here, as I stood up, only to realize I was _already_ standing.

"Hi mommy!"

I whipped around at the familiar voice. "… _Yang_?" I let out. "What are you doing here? _How_ did you get here?"

She blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?" She asked confusedly. "We've been waiting for you to get home from your mission."

Suddenly, the scene shifted. No longer was I in the bowels of the alien starship, instead, I was in our living room. Yang was perched over the back of our faded green couch, her face still scrunched up in confusion, while little Ruby was curled up by the fireplace on her favorite red blanket.

"Yang…" I muttered, tears streaming down my face.

"W- What's wrong?" She asked, pausing only a moment before summersaulting over the couch and hugging me. "Shhhhh…" She said, imitating what Tai and I did when either her or Ruby were crying.

"I'm sorry…"

"It's okay, mommy. I'm here."

* * *

My eyes blearily opened, still wet from the tears. "But I'm not…" I said, quietly, before taking a deep breath to calm myself. I glanced around me before sighing; I was in the hospital.

Again.

I facepalmed. "I really need to stop doing this…"

"I would be inclined to agree, Summer."

"Gah!" I yelped. "Serina, you've gotta stop doing that."

"Apologies, but I figured you would probably like to know that both Professor Anders and Captain Cutter are on their way to see you." She smirked. "It seems that you need to explain your magic to us mortals once more."

"Greeeeaaaat… just what I needed…" I deadpanned as the door opened.

"Rose." Cutter greeted, to which I gave a slight wave. "So," He began. "mind explaining how you did that little lightshow inside the Covenant ship?"

"Ehh… to be fair… I didn't know I could even _do_ that." I said, referring to the whole 'controlling a vessel in slipspace' thing, not my eyes.

"For once, you don't have the answers to how your mystical powers work." Serina said. "I would recommend a healthy amount of _looking_ for those answers, but, considering our current situation, that should, perhaps, be left for later."

I rolled my eyes at her snark. "So, how long have I been out?"

"A little under three days." Anders said.

I blinked. "Hang on a minute, shouldn't _you_ still be in here?"

"That's what I would've thought, too. You unlocking my aura must've sped up my recovery rate."

"Huh." I let out. "That's kinda surprising considering how little you actually have."

"Not that I'm complaining." She said, smirking. "Anyways, we're in interplanetary space now; just cruising at sublight until we can get the new drive mounted."

"So it'll work?" I asked, my eyes lighting up.

" _Mostly_ …" She said. "That thing with the control room damaged the drive a bit. It'll still work, just not anywhere _near_ its design speed."

"…Oh…" I let out, my ears flattening against my head.

"In all likelihood, it was probably that Elite." Serina said. "Last I checked, slipspace drives are _not_ supposed to act like that."

I winced, opening and closing my hand. "You can say thatagain…" I muttered. "So, I'm kinda scared to ask this, but… have you found Remnant yet?"

"Unfortunately not, Summer." Serina said.

"To be fair, we don't even know where our _own_ home is."

"That doesn't help, Professor." Cutter said. "We still don't understand how you got here, but if you could give us a map of constellations, there is a _chance_ we can find it."

My eyes trailed down to the bed. "I mean… everyone knows about the Wandering Feilong, but… that's the only one I can think of off the top of my head…"

"I'm… afraid that will be insufficient, Summer." Serina said.

"Kinda thought so…" I sighed. "Can… you guys leave for a bit? I'd… like to be alone."

Serina winked out of existence, the Captain and Anders both nodding and leaving the room. I waited for a few moments as the sound of their footsteps disappeared down the hall, feigning a depressive state…

…well, not _fully_ feigning one, but I made it seem worse than it actually was.

Spying my clothes on a nearby table, I quickly got dressed. What I had in mind would be quite embarrassing if I actually succeeded while dressed in a hospital gown. I sighed as my hand ghosted over the spot that usually held my emblem; I'd have to make a new one if- _once_ I got back.

I sat down on the floor, attempting to center myself. I closed my eyes, turning my thoughts to home. The Cabin. Forever Fall. Vale. Sanus. Remnant. They all flashed before my eyes. I got here from a portal, and I'm gonna get _home_ with a portal, damnit!

My eyes snapped open, allowing my silver light to pour free and form a ball in front of me. I grit my teeth, the exhaustion already setting in.

Remnant. Sanus. Vale. Forever Fall. The Cabin.

A faint image appeared within the ball each time I thought of something. Then an idea struck me.

Ruby. 'Take me to _Ruby_.' I mentally commanded. The ball shifted, transforming into a clear, albeit stark white image of my daughter's face. I smiled.

I'd done it.

I just needed to expand the portal, and then I could see her again. More silver light streamed from my eyes, but oddly enough, didn't form in a circular portal-shape around her face. Instead, it merely added to her form; her entire body now stood before me. Confused, I reached out to touch her…

…only to find that she was _solid_.

My jaw dropped in dismay as I realized I hadn't made a portal; I'd made a _statue_.

The construct evaporated before my eyes, scattering to the wind as my body began to shake. I didn't even have the energy to get back into bed, I just collapsed onto the floor, crying myself into an exhaustion-induced sleep.

* * *

"I don't like it either, Summer." Anders said as she led me forward.

"We've been in slipspace for over two weeks now." Cutter said. "There's been no sign of the Covenant and no progress on finding _either_ of our homeworlds."

We stepped into a massive room labeled 'Cryobay 4', pods lined every inch of the gunmetal grey walls. "Wait, then where are we even _going_?"

"The only place we _can_." Cutter said. "Anders recovered the coordinates to another facility after she'd escaped, maybe there's a map there that can lead us home."

My ears flattened. "I hope so…" Cutter typed a command into one of the pods, causing it to open. He motioned for me to get inside. "Just… wake me if you find anything, alright?"

He nodded as the pod closed. Almost as soon as it did, I felt myself slipping away from consciousness. They told me these pods used a gas to knock people out before the freezing started, and I was glad they did.

I was… cold…

* * *

/-\ Serina /-\

* * *

I checked her pod for the eighty-second time, only a few more moments until she woke up. I reviewed my file on her, as I had done innumerable times during my time guiding the ship. After I'd finished, confirming that she was right for the task at hand, her pod opened.

After she'd recovered from her coughing fit, she looked around, obviously curious as to why only _she_ was awoken. "Greetings, Professor." I said.

"Serina? Status."

"All systems are green across the board." I reported.

She blinked. "Then… why did you wake me?"

"I…" I paused. "I have… a task for you."

* * *

/-\ Jerome-092 /-\

* * *

"Spartan, wake up. Something has happened."

My eyes snapped open as I felt something force its way up my throat and I collapsed to the floor, coughing up fluid. As my wits returned to me, I remembered I'd been in cryo and this was normal. I groaned, standing up after my coughing fit. "Serina, status report."

"Intruder detected in cryobay four." She said in a strangely level tone.

Looking to my right, I saw my teammates emerge from their own pods, magnums in hand. "Status?" I asked, throwing my helmet on.

"Green." / "Green." They both responded, mirroring my actions. Moments later, we were off. Bay four wasn't too far from our own bay, and we arrived in less than thirty seconds. Our pistols swept side to side, searching for the intruder.

There were only two people in here besides us, and one of them was still in suspended animation. The person who we all knew was the intruder was clad in what looked like an upgraded version of ODST armor, helmet tossed aside in favor of using both hands to pry at Summer's pod.

"Hands in the air!" I ordered. The blonde spun around, eyes widening in surprise at seeing us before complying slowly. "Identify."

"Uhh… Y- Yang Xiao Long." She paused. "1st Remnant Shock Troopers."

I raised an eyebrow. "Remnant?" I nodded to Summer, who was still in her pod. "Know her?"

"She… She's my mother."

My eyes narrowed; this didn't add up. Different last name, completely different looks, different mannerisms. "We'll confirm that with her, step away from the pod." I ordered, electing to bring another ally into this in case she was lying. She glanced at her 'mother' before hesitantly stepping away. "Serina, wake her up."

…

"Serina, report."

…

I jerked my head to the console, nonverbally commanding one of my teammates to get it for the nonresponsive AI. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Alice move over to the controls, eyes and pistol still trained on this 'Yang' before typing in the command for a regular thaw.

"How did you get in here? I've never seen you on this ship before." I asked, deciding to get some of the interrogation out of the way while we waited the standard fifteen minutes for a cryo thaw.

" _Raven_ sent me."

"Who's that?"

"My _egg donor_." She growled out. "I got in an argument with her and she said, 'If Summer's your mom, why don't I send you to her?' and then the next thing I knew, I was here."

Her answer shedded some light on why she was calling a woman who looked _absolutely nothing_ like her her mother. If she was telling the truth, this would be even more complicated, so I elected to wait out the remainder of the thawing cycle in silence. She occasionally shot longing glances towards Summer's pod, but otherwise didn't move a muscle.

After what seemed like an eternity, the pod lit up, opening ever so slowly. Summer's eyes fluttered open and she sat up, taking in a laborious breath before breaking into the expected coughing fit that always accompanied a thawing.

She glanced around afterwards, eyes somewhat glazed over from her long sleep, before settling on the blonde. She looked confused, but also seemed to recognize her. After a few moments, her eyes widened. "…Yang?"

* * *

(A/N) Ermagurrrrd! Yang! Hopefully I can actually write a _good_ reunion this time around (V1C2 looms in the distance) Also, some Silver-Eyed bullshit has been revealed!

On another note, another reason this chapter took _this_ long to write was because I wasn't happy with the previous version. Said previous version was ~5.7k (and wasn't anywhere _near_ finished) when I abandoned it and started completely from scratch because I absolutely hated it. Lesson learned: I hate writing the Flood.

Oh, and Cutter and Co know _some_ things about Salem. Also Forge survived because Arby wasn't there to break the FTL drive, forcing him to activate it manually. That's kind of a big deal too, I guess…

Anyways, onto the reviews!

 **Guest 001 said "Could you answer something for me? You said this will join Ruby-B312 right? In that story, Ruby told her team that Auras were Remnant exclusive, so how did Summer activate Anders' Aura? If this is something you missed, please don't feel like you have to remake that entire scene over, I'm only slightly irked by it, I'd be even more irked if it was a Spartan's Aura she unlocked, it's fine considering Anders isn't a soldier."**

That's a product of how this story is written; namely that no single person is omniscient. Ruby didn't know how to unlock auras (or even that what she had _was_ an aura) when she had contact with Terran Humans, therefore, she assumed it was Remnant-exclusive because no one else had an aura.

The way I picture aura working for Terrans pretty much makes it into a nonissue no matter who it's unlocked for. Aura is aura, but it just isn't as potent coming from Terrans as it is from Remnans. They still get the healing bonus (as seen in this chapter) plus the totally-not-energy-shield and the semblance, but their max capacity is just too low to make any real difference.

To be clear, that isn't my actual headcanon, but I'm doing it this way for balance purposes. As you said, giving a Spartan aura (as Ruby clearly demonstrates in the main series) makes a hulking force of destruction only capable of being stopped by bullshit like magic. Having more than one of those guys around just makes for an uninteresting story, imo.

 **Joyginise said "I wonder if Summer would be proud of Spartan Ruby. Hmmm...That will be a very interesting conversation. Also, GASP Summer just done killed the main bad guy, "Cough" Of this Game "Cough", what will the enemy do now!"**

I imagine she wouldn't be too happy about her daughter's body count, that's for sure. Knocking covvie skulls, though? Well, ass-kicking runs in the family. I kinda felt that Ripa wouldn't let Anders go, so as soon as he got a bead on her location, he'd charge. And considering I'd already had a boss fight that chapter, this guy was cocky, _and_ I hadn't even mentioned him _once_ during the entire fic? Yep, his head rolls to the ground without any fuss whatsoever.

 **Guest 002 said "Does this mean Forge will live since they won't have to sacrifice Spirit's Slipspace Drive!?"**

Butterflies. Butterflies everywhere. Some beats affect things, others don't.

 **Guest 003 said "Can't wait for Spirit to arrive at Remnant with all its Manufacturing capabilities, Ironwood will Fall In Love with the ship's arsenal!"**

Damn straight he will. I have plans for the logistics side getting some love; you don't see that very much imo.

 **Sameguest said "The spirit of fire after suffering a major slipspace accident due to the disalignment of the slipspace drive is witnessed floating through space, cold and lifeless. (Halo wars 2 intro starts playimg) Silently the spirit of fire is thrust into celestial light by the slowly rising dawn of a fimilar cracked moon."**

Nice picture. We'll see if your prediction pans out next chapter…

 **Spartastic 4 said "I guess that he really lost his head in that one... but how come O have this feeling that you're not done with the Grimm quite yet. And at least Summer knows when to make a pun, unlike Yang.**

 **Now then... what shall the Flood do?"**

Couldn't resist that one, I mean, _come on_ , that one was actually good! That was the subject of the now-abandoned "Silver for Monsters", the alt version of this chapter that had Summer and co trekking through miles of Flood-infested caves looking for the facility's 'big red button'. I'm not good at writing horror, apparently, and I didn't want _that_ to be the penultimate chapter of this fic. It still exists, just unpolished and very much incomplete.

 **Shadow Walker of Fire said "Great chapter. I expected Summer to fight and kill Grimm-boy(can't remember if you gave it a name) on the other side of the slipspace drive where Sgt. Forge fights Arbiter Bucktooth(can't remember his name ether).**

 **I think a lot of readers would like to read about some Spartan(s) fighting Darth Maul along side two Jedi."**

Glad you liked the chapter!

Samuel Fredrich Mire (only said once during ch5) was the Grimm-man's name and Arby is apparently Ripa 'Moramee (never said in-game). While that would've been epic, the scene wouldn't have fit with the changes to Halo Wars's ending I have planned.

That is also an epic idea, but, realistically, that would probably be a roflstomp in favor of the Jedi-Spartan alliance, as it was actually pretty even with Maul vs Qui-gon and Obi-wan.

 **Guest 004 said "Aw man, I wanted to see the Spartans "Go To Town" on that Grimm!"**

Patience… all in good time…

 **Red October 700 said "If I am going to be honest, I think it would have been funny to see the elite go to kill Summer just to start gushing over how adorable she is, or kind of go Dr. Grey from RvB. Why? I have no clue. Just somthing I think would be funny. Also good ridance to the human grimm hybrid. Are we also going to see any of the conflity between Forge and Jerom? I have no idea if it is cannon but somthing I found on the net said that during the slip from Arcadia to the shield world, Jerom and Forge had a spat that resulted in a damaged seal or bulk head with harsh words given that was only stopped by Seirena. From then on they always sat together in the mess hall until Forge sacrificed himself. Not sure if it is a thing or not but -shrugs-. Not much to say here. I am going to review your other one now."**

If this fic had a chibi series, that'd be in it. The conflict between Forge and Jerome already happened in canon and they're best friends now. At least that's my interpretation.

 **Mr. Wolffe said "Ruby B312 and this one are two of the best fics I've read and reread"**

I personally don't think they're _that_ good, but thanks for the complement, nonetheless.

* * *

And that's it for this chapter! Hopefully the next one doesn't take several months to complete. It's called 'The Installation', at least atm.


	8. Familiar Faces

(A/N) So, there was a **_lot_** more details that needed expounding on than I initially thought. This means that this is **_not_** the finale of this fic and there will be one more chapter. Also, finals are on the horizon, and I obviously need to focus on that, so the finale might take two weeks this time around.

With that out of the way, on with the chapter!

* * *

Chapter Eight

Familiar Faces

* * *

/-\ Summer Rose /-\

* * *

My eyes fluttered open as I slowly became aware of the world around me. I started to take a breath, but it felt like my throat was almost completely blocked by… _something_. I still needed to breathe, however, and so I forced myself to do so. The moment the air broke through to my lungs, I felt something liquid dislodge inside of them. Something that _needed_ to get. **OUT**.

I leaned on the pod for stability as I seemingly coughed my lungs out, a whitish-blue fluid spilling from my lips as I did so. I took a moment to catch my breath before seeing who woke me. My vision was still a little hazy, but it wasn't exactly _difficult_ to make out the three Spartans in front of me, each having their pistol trained on a fourth person in the room. At first, I thought it was just some helmetless ODST, but then my vision cleared enough to allow me to see her face.

Raven.

I blinked as I noticed another feature. This woman was _way_ too young to be my ex-teammate. And blonde. And her eyes were the wrong color. Also, she wasn't actively fighting the Spartans, restrained, or dead. My eyes widened as I realized there was only one other possibility…

"…Yang?"

"Do you know her, Missus Rose?" 092 asked.

"I… she's my…" I climbed out of my pod, a tear already rolling down my face. "…My daughter…" I barely noticed the Spartans lowering their weapons as we both leaped forward, practically flying into each other's embrace. Another tear rolled down my cheek when I realized she was almost a full head taller than me. "I'm sorry…" I sobbed. "I'm so, _so_ sorry."

She gripped me tighter. "I love you."

I buried my face into the crook of her neck. "I love you too."

We stayed that way for gods know how long, both of us sobbing in joy that the other was right beside us. We could've stayed like that for a century, and neither we wouldn't've noticed. Of course…

"Missus Rose."

…Others would.

"Missus Rose." The Spartan repeated, impatiently.

" _What?_ " I asked, my voice low. "I'm a little busy, here."

"She is still an intru-"

"Oh, for fu- just _leave_."

He froze for a moment before nodding, leading his fellow Spartans out of the room. The moment ruined, I broke the embrace, examining my daughter. "So… uhh… you've… _grown_ …"

She rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah… it's… been a while…"

"How long?"

"Ten and a half years." She sighed. "We… we all thought you were dead…"

"I kinda figured." I gave her a sad smile. "Just know that I really _tried_ to come back. But… _that_ method won't work." I paused. "How did _you_ get here, anyways?"

Her hands clenched into fists. " _Raven._ "

I blinked. "That bit- she could've brought me back!"

Her eyes flashed crimson. "Did _she_ send you here?!"

I flinched at how _sudden_ she'd gotten angry. "No. It's… kind of a long story..."

"Oh…" Her eyes flickered back to lilac. "Well… I'm not going anywhere…"

I relaxed a little. "Yeah, I suppose not." I moved to the locker right beside my pod, opening it and throwing on my cloak and boots before tucking the rest of my clothes under my arm. "C'mon, let's go somewhere a bit less creepy."

She scooped her helmet off the ground, shivering as she glanced back at my pod. "You can say that again…" She said as we entered the hallway. "So… where _are_ we, anyway?"

"The UNSC _Spirit of Fire_." I answered. "Given what you're wearing, it _probably_ isn't too surprising that it's a starship."

She shrugged. "Not really. I uhh… I haven't been on many, but I'd _kinda_ like to get home. With uhh… with you."

"You and me both." I said as we entered the elevator. I sighed. "I've just… I've missed _so much_ of you girls' lives. I don't want to miss any more." Suddenly, a thought came to me. "Wait. Is… is Ruby alright? Did she get away?"

She winced. "It's… a long story…"

"Yes or no, Yang. Is she _alive_?" I demanded.

"…Yeah."

I sighed in relief at the fact that Ruby was _alive_ , at least, though the _way_ she answered made me nervous. Before I could press any further, the doors opened, revealing Anders's lab; the normally amazing view blocked by radiation shutters.

"Okay." I started, clapping my hands together after we strode inside. "I'll tell you how _I_ got here, and _you_ tell me about Ruby."

"Uhh… alright."

"So!" I smiled, channeling my inner Ozpin. "What's your favorite fairytale?"

* * *

/-\ James Cutter /-\

* * *

"Alright, what do you have for me, Anders?" I asked as we strode into the bridge.

"Let's see…" She strode over to the console. "Well, we've been adrift for a bit longer than we'd all hoped. It's September 17 of 2552; about twenty-one and a half years since we left."

I frowned. "That's a long time." I said. "Hopefully the UNSC managed to turn the tide in the meantime. It wasn't going well when we left."

"Hopefully…" She trailed off, pressing a different combination of buttons. Her eyes narrowed in thought. "Huh. Wherever we're going, we're almost there. Emergence time estimated between one and three hours."

I nodded in approval. "Better wake up the crew, then." I said, tapping a few buttons on my console. As the order finished, I noticed a screen to my side with three bars; Gravity – 100%, Atmos – 100%, AI Sync – 0%. That last one made me freeze. "We've been adrift too long, haven't we?"

She glanced at me. "Sorry, sir?" She asked, confused.

"Serina." I clarified.

Her eyes darted to a lockbox above my console. "We… _may_ have tried a solution to that, sir."

I raised an eyebrow. "A solution? You know she'd've gone rampant by now."

"It was her idea." She said, grabbing said lockbox. "She woke me up about two years into our trip, said she might know a way to survive." The box popped open, revealing Serina's partially disassembled AI chip and a few precision tools. "We… don't know if it'll work," she said as she began her work. "but in theory, disconnecting the chip's battery should've frozen her Reimann Matrix." She popped the cover back onto the now reassembled chip, took a deep breath, and inserted it back into the ship.

Immediately, my console chimed, the 'AI Sync' bar quickly rising until it reached 100%. The room flashed in a familiar blue light, Serina's avatar appearing in its usual place. "Anders? Did something go wrong? Why did-" She blinked. "… It actually worked?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Was there any doubt?"

"Oh… umm… hello, Captain." She said with a nervous salute. "UNSC AI SNA 1292-4 Serina reporting."

I sighed. "You should've asked me."

"I… didn't want to bother you, Captain." She admitted. "It gets lonely, managing a ship by yourself. It also gave me a bit of time to think of a very… _Summer-like_ solution." She paused. "It was my only chance."

"What if something happened between then and now?"

"What if something happened after I would've died?" She retorted. "I set up some very basic monitoring programs to wake the relevant crew should the need arise." She hummed. "Speaking of the crew, it looks like cryo worked well. Medstats on all remaining crew are green and there were no anomalies during their thaw cycles."

"That's good to hear, but we'll still be having words later about that stunt you pulled; that includes you too, Professor." I paused. "But for now, I want everything you have on our destination."

"You're likely just as informed as I, Captain." She said. "By the way, are you aware that Summer and an unregistered ODST are in your lab, Anders?"

"Yes, Serina. We figured we'd give them a bit of privacy."

"Mother and daughter reunion." I clarified. "Let them have their moment. There's plenty to do here in the meantime."

* * *

/-\ Yang Xiao Long /-\

* * *

I blinked at my mother's question. "… Fairytales?"

"Mhmm! Y'know, like the ones I used to tell you girls?" I stared at her blankly. She sighed. "Just… humor me for a minute. Please?"

"Fine." I said, crossing my arms. "Probably uhh… probably the Silver-Eyed Warriors." She grinned, giving me pause. "I know you uhh… you said they were powerful, but what does that have to do with you getting here?"

She sighed, leaning against the wall. "…I was trying to get you girls used to the idea that things… _less than ordinary_ were going to happen to our family." She chuckled darkly. "Though I didn't count on going to _space_ , that's for sure."

My eyes narrowed. "What do you mean 'less than ordinary'?"

She held out her hand, summoning a rose with her semblance. As it was forming, a wisp of white light leaked from her eyes, forming a perfect floating copy. I stared at her for a moment, unsure of what she was trying to prove, before she handed them both to me. "Go ahead, touch 'em."

Hesitantly, I did so. The one she made with her semblance felt like an actual object; it had a texture, it was hard, and it had visually distinct imperfections. The other one, though…

…it felt almost _ethereal_.

I couldn't actually grab it; my fingers just kept passing straight through, giving me a slight pins-and-needles sensation each time I did so. It radiated an aura of _purity_ ; not an aura as in our souls, but something… different. My own golden aura danced around my fingers as I played with it, though no harm was coming to me.

"Weird, huh?" She suddenly said, startling me out of my trance. "I… kinda hoped Ruby would be here when I explained it, but, well… what can ya do?"

My eyes widened as all the pieces finally clicked into place. "They're… not just a fairytale, are they?"

"Nope." She ran a hand over her face before letting both roses dissipate and plopping down in a chair. "It's… _tiring_ to do that." She said, yawning.

"But… that means you're like the ones in the stories." I muttered. "Can you actuallykill a Grimm by just _looking_ at it?"

"I dunno, maybe." She shrugged. "I'm still kinda learning as I go."

"Aww…" I moaned. "That would've been so cool…"

She smiled, rubbing my head. "Wouldda saved me a lot of trouble, too."

I blinked. "Wait… why uhh… why are you telling me this?"

She sighed, ears flattening against her head. "Because it's _dangerous_ to have silver eyes." She looked away in shame. "It's actually the entire reason why our home was attacked in the first place."

"… _What?_ " I let out, confused. "Why would anyone do that? It's supposed to be the ultimate weapon against the Grimm!"

"There are… _things_ out there with a vested interest in the Grimms' survival. _Powerful_ things." She paused. "She's the reason why us Silver-Eyed Warriors are so rare. We've been hunted to near extinction."

"'She'?"

My mother paused, sniffling slightly. "Something for another time." She said, seemingly trying to gather herself. "So, you said Ruby's situation was a bit… _complicated_?"

"Uhh…" I let out, trying to figure out how I'd explain it to her. "Well… she uhh… she disappeared the same time you did." Her eyes widened, but she said nothing. "We all thought she was dead too, just like you. Me and Dad just… shut down. I uhh… I blamed myself." I said, looking away.

She put a hand on my shoulder. "Yang… there wasn't anything you could've done. You weren't even trained yet. Actually, you were still just a kid!"

I sniffled, a solitary tear running down my cheek. "That's… uhh… pretty much what Ruby said, too."

She hugged me. "Well, at least the little one has some brains." She said, teasingly.

I chuckled nervously as I returned the embrace. "She's… not so little anymore."

She pulled away, blinking. "What do you mean?"

"Mom… Ruby's a Spartan."

She stood there for a moment, eyes wide in shock. "… _What?_ " She finally let out. "I just- _what?_ "

"Yeah… I uhh… I was surprised too."

She plopped down in a nearby chair. "I just can't picture my little cookie-addict in that drab green armor…"

I rubbed the back of my head. "Yeah, hers is newer. Red on the front and black in the back." I grabbed my helmet off my belt. "Actually, if this uhh… if this thing works like our other set, I'd be able to show you what it looks like."

She zoomed over to me, ears perked as we looked for any sort of data chip or cable connection. After a few minutes of playing around, we managed to get the datachip out and plugged it into the computer nearby.

Before we could do anything more, though, a blue hologram appeared. "Now, now, Summer. You know Anders doesn't like it when you touch her stuff."

She groaned. "Serina, can we _please_ not do this right now? I just found out my other daughter is a Spartan and-"

"Wait, what?" The hologram let out. "Oh, I'm assuming the datachip you just inserted into this computer contains information on her?" Mom nodded; her arms crossed in annoyance. "Alright, I'll show you her picture if you let me access the updated security codes also stored in there."

"Is that even a question? _Yes_ , do it!"

"Thought you'd say that." She said before snapping her fingers. "You might want to turn around."

We did so and, as promised, the picture of Ruby was staring us in the face. The actual photo was less than an hour old, considering it was the exact _moment_ when her fist contacted Raven's mask after I'd distracted her.

She sighed, running her hand through the hologram in front of us. "I'm sorry…" She muttered just loud enough for me to hear.

I grabbed her in a side hug. "She'll be there waiting for us."

My mom returned the hug. "…Yeah…" She said, sniffling.

We stood there for a moment, just taking in our situation as we hugged. A happy tear rolled down my cheek as I had an idea. "…Reeeed like rooooses fills my dreams and brings me to the place you rest…" I sang.

She smiled sadly. "Whiiiiiite is cold and aaaalways yearning, buuuuurdened by… a royal test…"

"Black the beast de-scends from shadows…"

"Ye-llow beau-ty buuuuuurns…"

"Goooold…" I finished as we collapsed into each other's embrace.

* * *

We turned around as the elevator doors opened behind us, admitting two people into the room. The woman wore a labcoat whereas the man wore a military-like garb.

"Good morning Anders; Captain." My mom greeted.

"Good morning as well, Rose." He said. "We aren't interrupting anything, are we?"

I shook my head. "Serina uhh… warned us you were coming."

He nodded. "Captain Cutter, UNSC _Spirit of Fire_."

"Uhh… Yang Xiao Long, 1st Remnant Shock Troopers."

He raised an eyebrow. "Rank?"

"Uhh…" I let out, dumbly. "We uhh… didn't get that far…"

He crossed his arms. "You're not _actually_ UNSC, are you?"

I smiled awkwardly. "Well… uhh… not exactly…" I said. "I'm really just uhh… just a huntress-in-training, but Ruby took us under her wing and uhh… we were the best people to fight the Covenant when they uhh… when they found Remnant."

Mom's face paled. "They found Remnant?"

I flinched, nodding. "We were on our way back to Beacon when uhh… when we ran into Raven."

"Forces deployed?" Cutter asked.

I shrugged. "Ruby said about twenty thousand men groundside. I uhh… I think we took out most of them. Plus, our team took out a CAS-class and the uhh… the Atlesian navy destroyed the rest of their ships."

He nodded, satisfied. "Not a small force, that's for sure." He shook his head. "Serina, ETA?"

Her avatar materialized. "Twenty seconds, Captain."

"Good to hear." He said, turning back to me. "Now, Summer seems to trust you and you've been cooperating so far, so that earns you some leeway. But until you prove yourself like she has, you're on thin ice. Do _not_ put my crew in harm's way. Clear?"

I laughed nervously. "Uhh… y- yes sir."

"Good." He commented as the shutters around the windows began to open. "Anders, Serina, status."

"Location still unknown at a glance, though we're _significantly_ closer to the galactic core; the Norma arm if I were to hazard a guess." The AI commented.

"System isn't too spectacular; a single Saturn-sized ice giant just a hair under fourteen AU from an F-series main sequence." Anders blinked. "Hang on a minute, there's something… else… here…" She slowly backed away from her computer screen and looked down through the transparent floor.

My jaw dropped as I did the same, spying an icy ring-shaped structure twirling beneath me.

"…I need to get down there…" Anders said, running to the adjacent holotable. "Immediately, of course."

"You remember what happened last time I left you alone?" Mom asked. "I'm going with you."

"If you're going, I am too." I announced.

"Do you even have a location selected, Anders?" Serina asked. "The surface scans have not yet completed."

She hummed. "Pull up the ring; overlay energy emissions." The projection morphed into what she asked for, various blue lines extending out from points on the ring itself. She twisted a few holographic knobs, altering the projection before grabbing a specific segment and enlarging it. "Here." She said, smiling in satisfaction. "Emissions are higher than the rest of the ring, but lower than the other hotspots."

Serina nodded. "That seemed odd to me as well, but I just figured it was a malfunctioning hotspot."

Her lips pursed. "Could be, but my gut tells me it isn't."

"Ah, now that you mention it, the other sixty-three hotspots form a recognizable pattern. This one doesn't fit…"

She smirked. "Anders one; machine zero."

"More like Anders thirteen; machine nine-hundred-sixty-six. I've been keeping track." Serina said, cheekily. "By the way, you might want to bundle up. Even disregarding the cold, UV radiation is thrice and a half as strong as Earth standard."

Anders hummed. "Good point; atmo seems breathable, though. At least according to the spectrometer."

Cutter nodded. "Alright, Professor. Since you're so adamant about going down there immediately, I'll have you and Summer fitted for armor. The vacuum-rated Marine BDU should be good enough."

She shrugged. "As long as I get down there."

"Aww… do I _have_ to wear armor?" Mom asked.

I chuckled. "It's okay, I'll help you."

"But… _armor_!" She shouted. "I don't wear armor!"

"It's uhh… it's not _that_ bad."

"If anyone around here needs armor, Summer, it's you." Serina said. "Being a frequent customer at our infirmary is not exactly a badge of honor, after all…"

"Ehehehe… I'm not there _that_ often…"

"Three times in less than a month of active duty." Anders deadpanned. "Two times you didn't even make it there and the third you passed out in the waiting room."

"Mom, you're wearing armor." I said dryly.

Anders chuckled, grabbing her arm and leading her away. "C'mon, Summer."

"Ahk! You'll never take me alive!" She said, mock-struggling against the woman's grip as she was forced into the elevator. I grabbed my helmet before joining them, smirking to myself at their antics.

* * *

"Y'know, I uhh… I just realized how crazy today's been…" I said as we flew down to the surface in a Pelican. "I mean, uhh… I found Raven," I extended a finger. "found out she's a bandit," another finger. "found _you_ ," I pointed to mom, extending another finger. "that uhh… _ring thing_ we're landing on," another finger. "and then there's _you_ guys." I said, pointing at the three _Spartans_ sat across from us.

"I take it the program is declassified?" The middle one, 092, asked.

"Uhh… kinda?" I said. "I uhh… I _think_ the Twos are, kinda, but uhh… I know what you guys are from my sister; she's a Spartan, too."

He tilted his head in curiosity, pausing for a moment before saying "Noted." and returning to his ever-stoic persona.

I turned to my mom, who was absentmindedly drumming her fingers on her knee. "So… uhh… what do you think we'll find down there?"

"Hopefully somewhere I can take this helmet off. This thing was _not_ made with Faunus in mind."

"Yeah… uhh… Blake said the same thing about these." I said, knocking on my helmet. She gave me a questioning glance. "She's uhh… my partner at Beacon and a Cat Faunus like you."

She smiled. "Y'know, when we get back, you'll have to introduce me to your team."

I nodded. "Y- yeah… Yeah, I will."

"Thirty seconds." The pilot announced over the intercom.

I reached above me and plucked my _X_ BR55 from the overhead shelf; apparently the regular BR55 hadn't been invented when the _Spirit_ left UNSC space and this was the closest thing they had. The only difference I could tell at a glance was the X-model had a 60-round mag vs the 36-round one of my own rifle back home. And this one used gunpowder instead of dust. That was important too. I could still use Ember Celica as gauntlets, but the dust in the actual shells was inert outside of Remnant's atmosphere.

I polarized my visor a moment before a loud **-thunk-** emanated from the dropship and the ramp fell. I rushed out of the bay, scanning left to right with my rifle around the Troop 'Hog we brought with us. As I lowered it, finding no threats in the snowy landscape, I heard my mom come up behind me.

"You know they'd've told us if they were expecting trouble."

"Better uhh… better safe than sorry."

She shrugged. "True."

Anders exited the dropship looking a little awkward in her new armor. "Looks like we were right, atmo's breathable." She said as another Pelican swooped down from the heavens, depositing a more conventional Warthog near us.

Two Spartans manned that one, speeding off to scout ahead while we strapped the Professor's equipment into a few of the open seats on our own transport. Five minutes later and we were off, our two 'Hogs grouping up and steadily combing through the snow-covered gorges that made up this ring. Every once in a while, I'd look up, always astonished by the fact that the horizon curved _upwards_. If I squinted, I could somewhat make out features on the equally icy opposite side of the ring.

Mom tapped my shoulder. "You shouldda seen the last place we found." She said, likely noticing what I was looking at. "The whole planet was hollow, and it even had its own _sun_ on the inside!"

I blinked. "…What?"

"Yeah, it was surreal." Anders said from the passenger's seat. "Could've studied it much more if I wasn't busy trying to escape the Covenant there." I tilted my head in confusion. "Long story." She said.

"Uhh… okay…" I let out, not wanting to distract her from anything when there could be _anything_ on this ring. A few more minutes of driving and we exited the cliff area, coming into a sparse coniferous forest.

"Weird… I didn't think there would be any trees here from the UV…" Anders muttered to herself as we continued onwards. "The source should be just another click or two spinward, based on these readings."

A moment later and we exited the treeline, coming to a stop as we realized we were heading for a sheer cliff. On the other side was a complex that seemed to defy gravity. Impossibly smooth silver metal blanketed the angular structure, many parts of it simply _floating_ with no rhyme or reason why. It made me wonder if an alien landed on Remnant, saw the islands over lake Matsu, and thought 'hey, that's cool; let's do _that_ , but without the crystals.'

After a few moments, mom stood up. "Looks like a light bridge; I've got it." She said, hopping out and walking towards a console I didn't notice until now. She paused, however, at reaching it. "Uhh… guys?" She said, uncertainly. "There's… _other_ things here."

Anders and I exited the vehicle, walking over to her. "…Candles?" Anders said, surprised.

I picked up another item, a ring-shaped wooden carving. "This just keeps getting weirder…" I ran my finger along the outside edge, noticing there were some glyphs drawn on the back. "Hey uhh… any idea what _this_ means?" I asked, handing the ring to Anders.

She looked at it for a moment, seemingly confused. "You can't read that?"

I shook my head. "Uhh... should I be able to?"

"I can." Mom said, taking the ring. "I thought it was a Remnan thing, guess not." She focused on the carving. "'The wisdom of the Ancients shall pave the way for the Great Journey.' Any idea what it means?"

Anders shrugged. "Well, whoever put them here is obviously religious. Maybe the 'great journey' is their heaven?"

Mom tilted her head in agreement, setting the ring down where I'd found it before pressing a button on the console. It hummed for a moment before twin beams of light shot out of the cliffside beside me, expanding to form something like a bridge.

I blinked as they started walking back to the 'Hog. "Uhh… are we sure that thing is safe?" I asked, pointing to the newly materialized bridge.

Mom shrugged. "Kinda what I thought at first, too. But yeah, it's fine."

I nervously glanced back at the bridge, but ultimately decided to trust them and hopped back in my seat. I was ready to jump the moment we started falling if necessary, but as we rolled over the bridge it never happened. I released a breath I didn't know I was holding as our tires made contact with solid ground once more.

That only left the structure in front of us. From this distance it almost seemed… _alive_. The floating bits I'd seen earlier now moved with a noticeable, if slow, bob, as if the building itself was _breathing_. Its metallic sheath was just as perfect as I thought; not a single scratch on it.

I was still amazed as we strode inside, the Spartans leading the way with mom and I on either side of Anders as she took various readings. "Ugh, finally!" Mom said, ripping off her helmet after the door closed behind us. "Gods, _this_ is why I don't like helmets." She said, rubbing her ears. "Still don't see why I couldn't just've had my hood up or something…" She grumbled, doing just that after clipping her helmet to her belt.

I rolled my eyes, deciding to change the subject. "So uhh… what are we even looking for?"

Anders shrugged. "Anything out of the ordinary, I suppose."

Mom facepalmed. "This whole _ring_ is out of the ordinary."

"Just keep your eyes peeled."

We fell silent; all of us keeping a look out as we moved forward. I turned on my VISR, watching as the tan grid drew itself over the building's interior walls. I paused as I swept over our formation's right flank, noticing my mom wasn't there.

I panicked for a moment, but the mini-heart attack was averted when I realized she'd just stopped a few yards back and was staring at the wall. "Uhh… ya comin', mom?" I asked.

She held up a finger. "There's… something here." She said, her hood fluttering as her ears twitched beneath it.

"…Guys, just wait up a sec." I said over my shoulder, still looking at my mom. Moving to join her, I held my rifle held at a low ready, prepared for anything. "What is it?"

"I'm… not sure." She said. "I don't know what the glyph says, but something tells me this is an emblem. Like my rose or Qrow's wing."

I blinked, looking at the blank metal wall before us. "What are you talking about? There's nothing here."

She stepped forward, placing her hand on the wall…

…causing a section to glow blue and vaporize before our eyes.

My rifle snapped up, scanning for anything in the warthog-sized hole in the wall, but nothing came through. I looked over my shoulder, but our teammates weren't there. I sighed, keying my mic. "Uhh… you guys should get back here. We found something."

"Y-h, -e d- -oo." Anders replied.

I blinked. "Uhh… can you repeat that? Your signal's weak."

"-on'- -lp. We f-nd on-ay -po-er -nd - -uck a -ew -dred kli-s -wa-"

I paused, trying to decipher her transmission. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

"No. -e g- thr- -par-an- -ith me, -'ll be -ne. I've -ead- con-te- -e _Spi-_ , -vestiga- -at yo- -ou-d. -ders ou-"

Mom crossed her arms. "Well, that's just great…" She muttered.

"So uhh… what do we do?"

"Call it in." She said, pressing a finger to her ear. "Summer to _Spirit_ , come in."

"Loud and clear, Summer." Serina said. "Be advised, Professor Anders and the Spartans have been-"

"Separated from us. We know." She interrupted. "So, what do we do? We found something, do we investigate or pull out?"

"We've already dispatched Sergeant Forge and a company of Marines to your location; they'll be there in a few minutes."

She nodded. "Alright. If they've got our backs, we'll investigate." She paused. "You sent Anders some backup too, right?"

"Indeed, we did. Another company is on their way to her location as well. Best of luck, Summer."

"Thanks, we'll let you know if we need anything." She said before motioning me forward. "C'mon, let's go see what's down here."

I sighed, following her through the newly exposed hallway. This one wasn't like the one we came from; less plain metal and more glass and lights. A little arrow-like glyph was painted on the floor right inside the doorway, just before it turned to glass and revealed the black abyss below us.

We both hesitated but had to move forward eventually. The hallway itself wasn't _that_ long, probably a few dozen meters, much shorter than the one we just came from. At the other end was a door a little larger than a person, an X-shaped light in the middle blinked before it opened for us.

On the other side was a fairly large chamber, one covered in various bits of machines both complete and incomplete. A suit of armor that lookedlike a _very_ tall Human could wear stood in the center of the room, its disembodied pieces floating in a stream of blue-white light. It shone, as white and sleek as an Atlesian dreadnought.

The entire left side of the room was dominated by a partially disassembled contraption, its lights dark and pieces of its perfect metal frame strewn about the floor. The right side, however, was the most interesting. On it was a pod of some kind.

A _filled_ pod.

We strode over to the pod, both curious. The pod itself was made from the same metal as everything else around here, though it didn't have the air of _perfection_ everything else did. The metal was still scratchless, but there were a few other inconsistencies. No floating bits; seams between individual plates; _screws_. Instead of the glass that a UNSC cryopod would use, this one used an energy shield like the ones an Elite would have.

I blinked as I viewed the person inside the pod. "She's almost…"

"…Faunus…" Mom finished for me.

The woman in front of us, while tall, could actually pass for a Faunus…

…if she had a nose…

I'd've guessed she'd be one of the mythical Sasquatch Faunus, given the snow-white fur that covered her shoulders, arms, and the backs of her hands. It would explain the height, too. She had her hair cropped at just above the shoulders, a twinge of red showing through on the sides of her head.

A blush climbed onto my face as I took my eyes off hers. Her clothes, while covered in grease, clung _uncomfortably tight_ to her form. Her _very_ feminine form.

I averted my eyes, causing my mom to chuckle. "Oh, don't tell me the Xiao Long genes skipped a generation."

My face flushed even harder, starting to resemble Ruby's armor. "Mom!" I squeaked. "She- _it's_ an alien!"

"Wouldn't'a stopped your dad." She smirked.

I groaned. "Enough about that! What do we do about _this_?" I said, pointing towards the alien.

She hummed in thought, staying still for a moment before shrugging. "Why don't we wake her up?"

I was about to protest, saying something along the lines of 'what if she tries to kill us?' But then I had another thought. "…Ruby never mentioned a _Humanoid_ alien…"

She nodded. "And neither has Cutter." She keyed her mic. " _Spirit_ , Summer here. Be ready to send us some backup if things go south."

"Rose, sitrep." Cutter demanded.

"Found an alien; not Covenant."

He paused. "Forge and a platoon of Marines are on the way. I'll have them hold just outside your position unless they hear shooting. Xiao Long, transmit visual." I didn't know how to do that, but I knew how to send a picture, so I did that instead.

"Remarkably Human-like." Serina said. "Moreso than any other species yet encountered."

"Yeah, our thoughts exactly." Mom said, moving to the control panel. "We're waking her now." She paused at the interface for a moment before pressing a single button.

As soon as she did, the shield shimmered and died, allowing us to see the almost albino woman in her true color. As the seconds ticked by, her skin gradually took on a more ashen grey tone rather than stark white, almost as if she was being brought back from the dead.

She twitched, making us jump a little, but did not open her eyes. Suddenly she lurched forward, not towards either of us, but instead towards the ground. Mom and I both caught her and _gently_ lowered her down as she sucked in a ragged breath.

We backed away from her, letting the alien get her bearings on the ground. Realizing how I might appear, I depolarized my visor. After a few moments, she shakily stood up, her eyes lazily blinking. The second her gaze fell upon us, her head whipped up in surprise, eyes wide.

"Humans?!" She shouted. "What are you-" She cut herself off as she stared at my mother. "…You have silver eyes…"

* * *

(A/N) Dun dun duuun! Aurora knows about the silver eyes. Really looking forward to the crack theories this might spawn.

Other than that… not _all_ that much happened this chapter, but it needed to be this way if I didn't want it to turn out like the Ruby and Yang reunion in ch2 of the main fic.

Oh, one little thing I came upon while researching… there's apparently a rough guess as to how large Lake Matsu is. In V5, Weiss and Pilot Boi hear a distress call that says they're "400km north of the southern shoreline." Given that they're likely using the _nearest_ shoreline as a reference, that means its likely in excess of 800km. If we be generous and say the lake has a diameter of 1200km (it's a _lake_ , not a _sea_ ), that means that Remnant is… 65% the diameter of Earth. This might not seem like a big deal, but its kinda vindicating for me, as I've always suspected the map of Remnant looked… _off_. Like it was too small. No one probably cares, but that's alright.

That's all I had to say, onto the reviews!

 **Joeyginise said – "Ya'll spelt my name wrong. Where's the "e" my guy. Anyway, this was good and stuff. The Installation in question is Remnant, isn't it. After all, Remnant has a Monitor."**

Ah, my bad. I guess it could be construed that way, but that's not what it's directly referring to.

 **Wolf said – "Okay that's just rude Yang I understand you hate your mother for abandoning you but calling her an egg donor that's low even for you plus you don't even know the full story of why she left so get all the facts before you start insulting her. Good chapter but seriously that was real low of yang calling raven that despite what's she's done."**

Keep in mind that, though it's been months since that chapter of Ruby-B312 was released… it was a few minutes for Yang, and she was still really hating on Raven for being a bandit.

 **Ghost of Los Angeles said – "Can't wait to see Summers reaction to Ruby taking off her helmet or red team's for that matter Or for that matter the reaction to what Kurt and Mendes are being forced to do or the Spartan III program in general.**

 **This was a great chapter maybe you can make a separate story for all those little ideas that don't make it into the main one"**

Yeah, definitely interesting times ahead. Though it will be a while in the main fic before the _Spirit_ actually shows up, even if there's only one chapter left in this fic.

I might do something like that, though also maybe not. Idk.

 **Red October 700 said – "Oh that already happend. Ok. And thanks for comfirming that interaction. As I said I herd it from somewhare and cant place where it was that I found it. So thanks for that.**

 **Ok story time. Great job, but can we get a translation of what the elites were saying? Or is thier speach just jumbled up words that need to be rearanged to read it. Not sure but somthing that I would like to know what it was they were talking about.**

 **And this is what, the fifth time Summer woke up in the hospital? Cutter should just put her quarters in the infirmary.**

 **Yang on the spirit of fire. Beliveable and cant wait to see what happens.**

 **Kind of a shame we didn't see the battle of Vetrim Harbridge or the Shield World if you havent read some of the books. Now belive it or not, while I have both Halo Wars and Halo Wars 2, I never completed them. I could just not get into an RTS game like that. The cut seans were great and I can get the jist of the main story from them. But playing it was so diffrent than what I am used to.**

 **All in all great chapter and looking foward to the next chapter."**

Oh, I forgot to include that, didn't I? Okay, so the gist of it is Elite 1 is saying "That parasite (Human) caused a mess, didn't she? She must be a powerful warrior!" Then Elite 2 responds with "Oh? Planning on taking a wife?" So yeah, just soldierly banter. Note that, while I _tried_ to stick to the official Sangheili language, there is so little of it that I just flat-out made-up words or smashed two together. I.e. I made 'Wife' out of the words for 'soul' and 'loyal friend'.

Hope you liked it!

I just didn't feel it was necessary to include the final battle of Etran Harborage; there's _plenty_ of other UNSC/Summer vs Covenant battle scenes in the fic, and I wanted to concentrate on the divergences from canon rather than canon itself.

 **Guest 001 said – "If it would take 21 years to travel that distance, then HOW did Spirit of Fire arrive at the installation SO QUICKLY in the first place!?"**

It's a canonical quirk of slipspace. The 21-year estimate was given if they were to use their own drive to go back to Earth under their own power, but they followed a covvie ship there in the first place. Basically, every time a ship enters slipspace, it creates a 'wake' which other ships can travel in at the same speed. Since the slipspace speed of a Covenant vessel averages at 912 LY/d, that is _remarkably_ faster than the Humans' 2.625 LY/d average, and thus why it took only two weeks verses 21 years.

* * *

Alright, that's all for this chapter! The _next_ one will be called 'The Installation'. Probably. If I can't think of anything better. Anyways, see ya!


	9. The Installation

(A/N) Aaand now that finals are done, we can resume our regularly scheduled programming. I'm trying something new for how I'm laying out this chapter, so just bear with the frankly excessive amount of PoV changes. Do let me know if it works, though.

Also, for some reason, FFN stopped sending me message notifications, so, while I still found out if you _reviewed_ any of my things, I had absolutely no idea if you _messaged_ me. So yeah, sorry about not responding and whatnot.

Also, Merry Christmas!

* * *

Chapter Nine

The Installation

* * *

/-\ Ellen Anders /-\

* * *

"Area secure." 092 said, stepping aside so I could enter the room.

I'd've rolled my eyes at his overprotectiveness, but we _did_ just get teleported several hundred kilometers from our exit with no way back. I turned back to the teleporter behind us and frowned; hopefully there was an exit here, because _that_ slag heap was certainly not going to bring us back any time soon.

"Professor," 092 called out. "you need to see this."

I shrugged, turning around and heading into the room ahead of me; the only path forward. "What'd you find?" I asked, only for my eyes to widen once I saw what was _in_ the room.

Bodies.

* * *

/-\ Summer Rose /-\

* * *

My eyes narrowed at the alien. "And _why_ does my eye color matter?" I asked, testing her.

"Because it means you and I are siblings."

* * *

/-\ Ellen Anders /-\

* * *

"Silver eyes…" I muttered, examining the nearest corpse as it floated lifelessly in its tank.

"Professor, there doesn't appear to be any exits."

I sighed. "Radio the _Spirit_ that we'll need a digging crew, then. Hopefully they won't be long. Also, is it just me, or do these… _bodies_ look a little short?"

He looked around, examining the row of filled tanks more closely. "Affirmative."

"That's what I thought." I said. "It almost looks like someone's been specifically targeting people suffering from dwarfism..."

"I don't recall silver eyes being in the Human genome, ma'am."

I shook my head. "Me neither; at least the _Terran_ genome."

* * *

/-\ Summer Rose /-\

* * *

" _Siblings?!_ " I shouted.

"Well, not literally." She clarified. "My parents fancied the New Humans as their children; ergo, we are siblings, though obviously not biological ones."

"Ya think?"

"I am a sapient being. I do, indeed, think."

I stared at her. "What?" I shook my head. "Nevermind, what do you mean, New Humans?"

"It is what you are." She said. "Though you are _extremely_ tall to be a New Human; just how long has your species been on its own, now?"

"On our own?" I asked, confused. "And why do you keep calling me a Human? I'm a _Faunus_." I said, lowering my hood.

Her eyes trailed upwards. "…Those are _not_ supposed to be there."

* * *

/-\ Ellen Anders /-\

* * *

I thumbed through my journal, confirming my translation, before pressing my hand to the holographic ball that seemed to be this room's interface. As my skin made contact, the entire room started to whirr, displays spinning up and more lights coming online to accent what was likely the emergency lighting.

The characters on the displays shimmered, transforming into their English counterparts a moment later. "This was a genetics lab…" I said after a moment of reading. I brought up the life monitoring equipment, only to sigh at the results. All six people were dead; time of death recorded as just shy of a hundred thousand years ago. I blinked when I read their species name. "…New Humans?"

* * *

/-\ Summer Rose /-\

* * *

My eyes narrowed in anger, but before I could do anything, the suit of armor I saw earlier floated past me, reforming around her as if commanded. An orange light shot from her visor, scanning over me.

"That's… _strange_." She said.

"Oh, so I'm _strange_ now? What about when you said I _shouldn't_ have my ears?! Y'know, the things I was _born_ with?!"

"It was not my intention to imply that."

"Well you-"

"I meant that _we_ did not give you those ears."

* * *

/-\ Ellen Anders /-\

* * *

I squinted at the 'New Human's DNA readout. "Where have I seen you before…" I muttered. "I know I have, but _where_ …" I looked up from my screen, hearing one of my armored guardians approach. "Found something?"

He nodded. "Skeletons."

I blinked. "More New Humans?"

He shook his head. "Bigger. Humanoid, but last I checked, we've only got _one_ pair of opposable thumbs."

I hummed. "Alright, can they be moved?"

"Yes."

"I'll examine them here, then." I said, turning my attention back to the readout. Suddenly, it clicked. "The rosarium…" I muttered. "The rosarium!" I flipped through my journal, knowing I'd made an entry about Summer's genome somewhere. After a few moments, I found it. For obvious reasons, I couldn't record her _entire_ genome on a single page, but I _could_ record the percentages of each nucleotide.

I frowned; the most unique thing about Summer's DNA wasn't present. I quickly downloaded a copy onto my PDA. " _Spirit_ , can you get Serina to compare this sample with Summer's genome? I have a hunch." I said, uploading it.

"Affirmative." The AI responded. Several agonizing minutes later, she responded. "The sample has a naught-point-five percent difference to Summer's, naught-point-four percent being the entirety of the substance dubbed 'rosarium'."

"Likelihood they're related?" I asked back.

"Unknown, but there is a ninety-nine-point-nine repeating percent chance of their kind being direct ancestors to the Faunus; aka Summer's race."

"Thought so." I said. "Now there's another question; where did the rosarium come from?"

* * *

/-\ Summer Rose /-\

* * *

"So you're telling me…" I started, making sure I had things right. "your parents… _made_ my people?"

"Not exactly." She said. "We didn't give you the appendages on your scalp, nor are we responsible for the… _abnormalities_ in your DNA. Or hers, either." She said, looking at Yang. "We did, however, make your ancestors."

I growled in frustration. "And _why_ should I take any of this at face value? I literally just met you."

"Belief is your choice, but I have only spoken the truth." She said. "Besides, your Professor Anders will be able to confirm my claims. 487, if you would…" She held out her hand shortly before a hologram erupted from her open palm. It depicted my friend in her armor pouring over a computer, flipping through files with the control ball.

I crossed my arms as the hologram dissipated. "Okay, so say I believe you. That means you know where Remnant is, right?"

"No." She said, simply. " _But_." She held up a hand, silencing any protests I had. "I _can_ replicate the conditions that sent your ancestors on their way, eventually settling on _Remnant_ , if I am extrapolating correctly." She paused. "Though saying I am not curious of how your kind survived all these years would be a lie; you _did_ only have one one-thousandth of the necessary population for a sustainable genepool."

* * *

/-\ Ellen Anders /-\

* * *

As I was combing through the details of the New Humans, I found something interesting.

A survivor report.

Quirking an eyebrow, I opened it.

 _Subjects 101-Chiamar, 111-Cinna, 192-Calavera, 292-River, and 312-Rose escaped through the Gate aboard Elysian Reprieve with assistance from Monitor 298 Harmonious Remnant. Aurora sent via emergency FTL stasis pod to Installation 00, as the Greater Ark was compromised; expected return 234 standard cycles. New Human population below minimum sustainable. Subjects expected to survive; extinction likely within three generations, guaranteed within five._

 _Activation imminent. Designating all remaining subjects as deceased._

 _Good luck, Aurora._

" _Rose_?" I whispered.

* * *

/-\ Summer Rose /-\

* * *

"Okay… I don't really see why we needed to go into a detailed explanation of what a minimum population was, but whatever." I ran my fingers over my face in exasperation. "So, back to the part where you can get us home…"

"Ah, yes. All it requires is for the machine behind me to function."

"I'm sensing a huge 'but' here."

"You are correct. The Gate is not functional."

I groaned in frustration. "Godsdamnit."

* * *

/-\ Ellen Anders /-\

* * *

The Gate.

Just the name alone was enough to get me interested in it. A quick query later and I was pouring over every little detail of the device. At first, I just thought it was a fancy slipspace portal; one used to cross vast distances in moments. As I read on, though, I realized that it didn't just use slipspace to travel through realspace, it used slipspace to cross entire _universes_.

Plural.

Whoever built this ring also gave it the ability to cross _realities_ if they so chose. That line earlier, 'Subjects escaped through the Gate'; the fact that these New Humans were Summer's ancestors; it all pointed to one thing…

Summer Rose is from another universe.

* * *

/-\ Summer Rose /-\

* * *

"So, what do we have to do to fix it?" I asked, eager to get _home_ already.

"I'm quite curious myself. Care to help out, 487?"

I was just about to ask who she was talking to when a voice boomed from her helmet. "You cannot repair the Gate."

"Yes, yes, you have been telling me that for as long as I have worked on it. Do you have any _new_ information for me?"

"Indeed, Lifeworker."

She paused for a moment. "Please share with the rest of us."

"You cannot repair the Gate, for it is functioning as intended."

* * *

/-\ Ellen Anders /-\

* * *

"Professor, the teleporter just lit up!" 092 said.

"That slag heap? Did you do anything to it?"

"Negative."

I glanced backwards before transferring as much data to my tablet as I could quickly grab and running for the teleporter.

* * *

/-\ Summer Rose /-\

* * *

"All this time…" She muttered. "Why keep the truth from me? And do not think your activating the lab teleporter escaped my notice."

"My master's requirements were not met."

She growled. "My father wouldn't want me to waste away here."

"Indeed, Lifeworker." The AI said. "His explicit orders were to rotate you through stasis until any worthy successor faction found this installation; whether they be the Old Humans, Forerunners, or, in this case, the Mudborn."

As the AI spoke the last word, Anders and her three Spartans suddenly sprinted into the room. Just as they laid eyes on the alien, three rifles snapped onto her.

"Wait!" I shouted, getting between her and the Spartans. "She can take us to Remnant."

They didn't lower their weapons, but Anders stepped in front of them. "That's good, but what about Earth?"

"Earth…?" The alien said, half confused. "Oh, you mean the Human homeworld; Erde-Tyrene."

Anders tilted her head in confusion. "…Didn't know it was ever called _that_ , but yes. Airda Tyreen."

"Yes, as a matter of fact we do. 487?"

"Erde-Tyrene is currently twenty-seven-thousand-three-hundred-eighteen light years from this installation." It said, causing my eyes to widen. "According to scans of your vessel done by the monitor of this facility, it would take approximately six-thousand-eight-hundred-twenty-nine-point-five days to traverse under ideal conditions, however, records show-"

"Alright, we get it." I interrupted. "It would take _forever_ to get to Earth." I sighed. "How long would it take to get to Remnant?"

"Anywhere from one day to one month."

"That's quite a difference." She said. "Anders to _Spirit_ , we have-"

"Break break break!" Cutter said over comms. "All forces, Covenant _armada_ just dropped out of slipspace, get topside ASAP for extraction!"

* * *

/-\ Captain Cutter /-\

Two minutes prior

* * *

"Status on Anders's rescue?" I asked, staring at the ring idly spinning in the void.

Serina winked into existence beside me. "Still a few hours out." She said. "At this rate, it'd probably be faster to have her fix the teleporter that brought her there in the first place."

"There's no rush; plus, the men could use some time planetside without being shot at."

"For a given definition of 'planetside', sir." She snarked.

I sighed. "The Professor uncover any world-shattering secrets yet?"

"Well, she _did_ just find Summer's ancient ancestors floating in a tank, so I would say so."

I paused. "Is it bad to miss the Insurrection? Things were a lot simpler back then; no genocidal aliens, no magic cat women, and ancient aliens didn't go around building planets all over the galaxy."

"Aye sir, strange times inde-" She paused. "Slipspace ruptures detected; two and a half light-seconds off the starboard bow."

"Set condition red throughout the ship. Details on the contacts?" I asked, walking over to the holotank.

"Sir… it's the Covenant. I count forty-seven CCS-class, three CAS-class, and one… I don't know how we'd even _classify_ it. Length just shy of twenty-nine kilometers, visually similar to a CAS-class, size notwithstanding."

I frowned. "There's no way we'd even stand a chanceagainst a fleet like that. Rig for silent running and get me our groundside forces."

* * *

/-\ Summer Rose /-\

* * *

"An _armada_?" Yang said, worried.

My eyes narrowed at the alien. "I'm _not_ missing an opportunity like this, get the Gate open."

"I have been trying to get it operational for five waking years and am no closer to learning the activation sequence. 487, do you have any insights?"

"Indeed I do, Lifeworker. As your predecessors intended, the Gate can only be operated by a Reclaimer; simply have her place her hand upon the device and the controls will manifest."

I strode up to the device. "Just anywhere?" I asked.

"Indeed, Reclaimer."

I placed my hand on the casing, pulling it back as lights turned on and a holographic display winked into existence. I turned to Anders and the Spartans. "You guys should probably get going." I sighed. "I… guess this is goodbye."

"Actually," The AI interrupted. "the Gate can be set to transport anything within one light-minute; all ships in-system are well within that range."

"'All ships' meaning the Covenant too, then?" Anders asked.

"Indeed, Reclaimer." It hummed. "Odd that they are only scanning the Installation and the rest of the system. That is irrelevant, however."

I blinked, recovering from the slight tangent the machine went on before frowning. "Bringing them with us would just lead them to Remnant."

"Not necessarily." It said. "No one here knows the exact location of your homeworld, and they are not actively looking for it."

"Wait, didn't you uhh… didn't you say they _really_ wanted this place?" Yang asked. "Like, they weren't even looking at _anything_ else?"

"Indeed I did, Young One. I do fail to see how that is relevant, however."

"Could we uhh… send this thing to the other side of the galaxy or something?"

"That's… not a bad idea." Anders said. "Especially since we'd be going to another universe and leaving them without a way back. The only problem is we'd be trapped on this ring as well."

"Not necessarily." The alien said. "I _believe_ your ship is within the range of the Halo's slipspace teleporter network. 487?"

"You are correct, Lifeworker."

"Well, sounds like a plan to me. What do you think, Anders?" I asked.

"It's not up to me." She said, raising her hand to her helmet. " _Spirit,_ this is-"

"They will not respond." The AI said, interrupting her. "Your vessel is attempting to hide from these _Covenant_ , as you call them. They have ceased all radio communication and power levels have fallen dramatically."

Her fists balled. "What are the chances of the _Spirit_ making it out of this without our help?"

"One in fifty million."

"And with?"

"One in ten."

She sighed. "We don't have a choice, then. Do it, Summer."

I nodded, pushing all the required buttons on the surprisingly easy-to-use interface. I paused for a second, taking a breath before pressing the big red button marked 'activate'.

* * *

/-\ James Cutter /-\

* * *

"Sir!" Serina shouted. "Slipspace rupture detected!"

"Where?"

"All around us, Captain. Deploying radiation shields now." She said as the room began to darken.

"Any chance we can get out of it?"

"Negative. The readings on this rupture are… well, _fantastical_ is the only concise word I could use to describe it."

"Damnit." I swore. "How long can we resist it and who are we still waiting on?"

"We can't fight back while running dark, and the only ones we're still waiting on are those in Anders's expedi-"

She was cut off when the room erupted in golden light. I blinked it away, drawing my sidearm in the same motion…

…only to see Rose leaning against a nearby wall.

My eyes scanned over the new arrivals, making sure no one was left behind. Rose, Xiao Long, Anders, 092, 130, 042, _plus one_. My weapon snapped up, pointing at the silver-armored stranger. "Who are you and what are you doing on my bridge?"

Summer groaned, shaking off whatever effects by teleporting onto my bridge. Again. "It's alright, Captain," she paused, eyes awkwardly darting between the newcomer and I. "…I don't actually know her name, but she's okay."

I raised an eyebrow. "You expect me to trust someone who you don't even know the name of?"

"Yup." She said, popping the 'P', before turning back to the _guest_. "I know we didn't really have time before, but I can't just keep calling you 'the alien' or something, so!" She clapped her hands together. "I'm Summer, that's Yang, she's Anders, those three-" I gestured to the Spartans. "-go by their numbers, Captain Cutter is the guy pointing a gun at you, and you are...?"

"Aurora Heralds Infinity."

"Great! Nice to meet you, Aurora. Serina!" She yelled. "We found you a boyfriend!"

Her hologram blinked. "I beg your pardon, Summer?"

"No time to explain. 487, give her the… whatever you've gotta."

A blue light shot from Aurora into the holotank, causing Serina's hologram to flicker for a moment. "Oh…" She let out. " _That_ is certainly a way to get out of this. Captain, permission to save our rear ends?"

I raised an eyebrow, weapon drooping slightly. "What did you have in mind?"

"Oh, nothing major, just using the ring as bait to send the Covenant to the other side of a galaxy in an alternate universe. Y'know, just the Tuesday run."

I smirked. "Granted."

"Aye sir, course plotted for yet another leg of this crazy little adventure; spinning up FTL drive." She paused. "Aaaand you can all relax now, we're on our way."

"Alright, with the Covenant out of the way, let's address the elephant in the room." I turned to Aurora. "What are you doing on my ship?"

"I have been alone for so long. I was not about to throw away the chance to be with other sapient beings." Aurora said. "And that is discounting the fact we had the calculations required to make this plan work in the first place."

I facepalmed, holstering my weapon. "I'm starting to feel like I'm running a circus instead of a ship..." I muttered, sighing. "Fine, I'll give you a little leeway for assisting in our escape. You can stay with Rose and Xiao Long. Anders, report; what did you find down there?"

"Serina probably already told you, but the Spartans and I found deceased members of what likely evolved into Summer's race."

Aurora shook her head. "No; not enough time has passed for them to evolve naturally, let alone split into two distinct, if similar subraces. Time may vary greatly between universes on a small scale, but over time it tends to balance out. 487 informs me that just over one-hundred-thousand years have passed on our end; I would expect there to be no more than a fifty percent variance."

Anders raised an eyebrow. "A third party, then?"

"Most likely, yes."

"That's what I thought." She blinked. "Wait, did you just say time flows differently between universes?"

"Indeed I did." Aurora said. "One second in our universe is not equal to one second in theirs; in fact, the timescales are dynamic, and time is essentially in superposition between the two."

Anders groaned. "I hate quantum mechanics."

I raised an eyebrow. "Care to explain in English for the rest of us?"

Aurora lifted her palm, a hologram of two digital clocks – both reading 12:00 – flickering into existence. "Imagine one minute ticks by in one universe." The clock on the left increased to 12:01. "This has absolutely no bearing on what time does in the other universe – Universe B, for simplicity – but there can only be two possible outcomes; a minute passes, or one does not." The clock on the right showed 12:01, but below it, another one materialized showing 12:00. "Normally, we would never know which happened, thus, they would remain in superposition."

"But there is always someone in both universes to _observe_ which one happens." Anders cut in.

Aurora nodded. "Obviously, only _one_ can happen when observed. In this case, we will say a minute did _not_ pass in Universe B." The right clock reading 12:01 disappeared. "Universe A is now one minute ahead, but now what? The process begins again and will keep running forevermore."

I crossed my arms. "And what does that mean for us?"

She lowered her palm, the holograms fizzling out. "I may have used minutes in this example, but the same principle can be applied to any other unit of time measurement: seconds; hours; days; etcetera."

"Oh!" Xiao Long suddenly shouted. " _That's_ how she's older!" Rose gave her a questioning look. "Oh, uhh… Ruby's a bit… _older_ than we expected."

The woman raised an eyebrow. "How _much_ older?"

"She's uhh… twenty-two, now."

"She may not be when you see her next." Aurora pointed out. "For all we know, a thousand years has passed between you arriving here and when we reach our destination in approximately three of our days."

Xiao Long's shoulders drooped. "O- Oh…" She looked at her mother. "Can… uhh… can you show me where the room is? I'd uhh… I'd like to go to bed, now."

"Yeah, me too…" Rose trailed off as they left.

"Aurora, go with Professor Anders; she'll get you settled in and take care of any further questioning. 042, go with them. 092, I expect your AAR submitted by twenty-two hundred hours. Dismissed."

* * *

"Do you think this is going to be the right system, Serina?" I asked, standing in front of the boarded up windows as we waited to drop out of slipspace.

"Theoretical probability states there is only a thirty-three percent chance this is the Remnant system, however, the constellation data Miss Xiao Long brought us raises that to ninety-five; there just aren't that many systems to search this far from the core." She paused. "Well, either this system or its neighbor approximately six light-months away."

I crossed my arms. "I still wish we had a choice." I muttered.

"Even if we were in the correct universe, it would take us over forty years to reach the Orion spur, let alone any friendlies that may remain."

I opened my wallet, seeing a picture of my family inside. "I still can't believe Reach fell…"

"Humanity always perseveres, Captain."

I frowned. "Tell that to the twenty crewmen who hanged themselves already." I muttered. "I'm not exactly comfortable with potentially being part of the last of us. Well, _our_ branch of us, anyway." I sighed. "At least we shook that cruiser."

"I'm just glad it was only _one_ cruiser; usually they don't act without escort."

I nodded. "ETA to exit?"

"Thirty seconds."

I nodded before walking to a terminal and cuing the ship-wide intercom. "All hands, brace for realspace transition in twenty seconds."

I set the mic down, walking back to the window as I awaited the moment of truth. We'd had a few of these over the last week we'd been here, but we'd only been really _searching_ for their world for the past two days; the remainder of the time being taken up by running from a CCS-class.

I felt a slight rumble in the ship, signifying our transition. "Scanning…" Serina said as the shutters retracted. "It seems we guessed wrong, though I would estimate-" She cut herself off. "Captain, incoming distress call, audio only!"

"Let's hear it." I commanded.

" **This is Sierra-Bravo-Three-One-Two in orbit of an unknown planet requesting a pick-up, anyone copy?"**

* * *

(A/N) Aaand they're back! Well, not _back_ back, but they will be. They found the Remnant system (name not final), at least and heard Ruby's distress call from waaaay back in V1C1. To clarify, they're not _in_ the Remnant system proper, just its very close neighbor and lightspeed delay allowed them to hear Ruby.

Hope you guys didn't mind the physics in this chapter, I know most people aren't into that. Another thing that I feel needs a little clarification is why in the _hell_ I decided to have _so_ many PoV switches in this chapter, and that boils down to one thing:

I needed to convey similar information from two different PoVs.

Basically, I'd written a permutation of Summer's scene (clocked at roughly 1.5k words) and realized I needed to tell a _very_ similar story but from Anders's perspective. So, not wanting to repeat myself, I deleted the whole thing and started over, switching PoVs every time a plot point was explained. It also helped break up the exposition problem this was having, as the entirety of Summer's original scene was pretty much just straight, _undiluted_ exposition. That's no way to write a story, let alonea _finale_.

Anyways, that's enough of that, time for the reviews!

 **Wolf said – "So a new humanlike race this will be interesting also I can't wait for summer and ruby to renunite but summer's heart will break when she learns of ruby's past mission and the fact that she's a spartan assassin. On a lighter note it would be funny to see summer jealous of ruby's height with her saying (You're like 6,4 without armor and 7,0 in it and im 5,2 this is bullshit!cue ruby laughing her ass off.)"**

Actually, that's a Forerunner. Their late culture revolved a lot around genetic engineering, that's just what their young (called Manipulars) looked like. The Librarian was a full-fledged Lifeworker whereas the Ur-Didact was a modified Warrior-Servant. The lore behind it is actually pretty cool.

That image had me laughing for longer than I'd care to admit. The height jealousy part, not the 'my daughter is an assassin' part. That one's tragic.

 **CreeperslayerL421 said – "Very nice.**

 **Just one question: Where's 487 Resplendent Notion? The last we saw of him/her/it, 487 had a plan cooking itself up. Whatever became of that?"**

He's in Aurora's armor sleeping. There's only so much to do when you're an ancilla on a Halo ring anyways, and he's technically not even supposed to be there, so there's even less to do. He's got an alarm clock, they just found him at the wrong time.

 **Raw666 said – "So how is the crew going to react that Reach is gone? Especially since Reach is the last fortress world to Earth. By that point, most must realize there may not be an Earth to return home to."**

That last point is pretty much the entire reason why Cutter is so accepting of the "we're going to Remnant" plan without a follow-up "We're getting back to Earth" plan in the last scene. He's obviously told the crew, but morale is probably pretty low atm, the only thing really keeping the men going is the attitude of "Fuck you, Humanity is gonna live on!", though that can only do so much.

 **Red October 700 said – "AHHH. I kind of figgerd it was just pointless banter but you never know with some people. And I can see what you mean for the final battle. So again a good chapter and cant wait to see what you have in store for the next and final chapter.**

 **So is this a forerunner that is in the cryo-pod or a hybrid of a forruner-human-faunas hybrid? I dont think any of the forerunners had tails if I rember the lore corectly. Just an oddity that stood out and would like more infoe this instilation, is it in the same solor system as Remnant or is it some whare else entirely.**

 **Again a good job."**

I didn't say she had a tail, though I do say "while tall" at some point in her description. She is 100% Forerunner, though because she's so young, she's still in her Manipular form. The way they do coming-of-age rituals literally involves going through Spartan-like augmentations, but she's still in her first form; a few years younger (physically) than Bornstellar-Makes-Eternal-Lasting was at the beginning of Halo: Cryptum.

Also, the Halo isn't in Remnant's star system.

* * *

Aaand that does it for this final chapter of A Summer's Harvest! Thank you all for joining me on this _ludicrously_ long-overdue story. Remember all those times I said "Hey, this will just be a quick story"? Yeah, _that_ didn't happen. Anyways, I'm off to work on the next chapter of Ruby-B312! Another thing that is _looooooooooong_ overdue!

Hopefully it'll be out before the new year!

…he says, not knowing of the 40,000 year hiatus to come…

That's a joke.

Hopefully.


End file.
